


Tu Solus

by DWImpala67



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Architect Jensen Ackles, Attempt at Humor, Awkward Romance, Boys In Love, Businessman Jared Padalecki, Coffee Shops, Declarations Of Love, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Hissy Fits, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, Misha Collins Being An Asshole, Misunderstandings, Protective Jared Padalecki, Small Towns, Supernatural Meant to Be Challenge, The Author Regrets Nothing, brewery, mentions of legends and curse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 03:54:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30015732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DWImpala67/pseuds/DWImpala67
Summary: SPN Meant To Be 2020Jensen, an architect, is about to get married to the love of his life, the son of the biggest businessman in town. On his wedding day, Jensen, finds his soon-to-be husband, locked the bathroom in a flaming flagrante delicto, and throws a fit of epic proportions. In a small town like Maple Falls in Texas, the word travels fast and soon he finds that instead of his ex, it’s him facing the backlash from the folks because they are financially obligated to his ex. He’s at the end of the rope, when a billionaire business tycoon, Jared Padalecki, barges into the town on account of personal business and hires Jensen to redo the broken Southern Texan villa, that he claims to have bought for his boyfriend. But it doesn’t stop Jensen from falling head over heels for a man who’s already taken.
Relationships: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles/Original Male Character(s), Steve Carlson/Christian Kane
Comments: 33
Kudos: 134
Collections: SPN Meant to Be Master Collection





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The title of the story is in Latin which means Only You.
> 
> This story has been in making for past three months. It's my first attempt at light humor. I was fortunate that my artist - Aomasade, offered a collaboration because we both ended up claiming the same prompt for Meant To Be Challenge. She has created some awesome art pieces for the story. She even suggested a few plot lines. It was fun collaborating with her. Thank you, my friend for everything. Link to her artpost can be found just below the banner. 
> 
> I struggled with this story because usually angst is my forte. So writing about fools in love was a bit tough. I have three amazing people to thank for without whom, this would never have seen light of the day who worked a tirelessly getting the story right as I did. 
> 
> To, Judi and Carole, for being amazing beta readers. They really pushed me to get things done when I was scared if I'd make it to the deadline. Both of these lovely ladies were absolutely awesome and I'm really grateful for their support.  
> To, Jen, what should I even say? There aren't words to describe how much I value you, my friend. From being an Alpha reader to the last minute edits to handling my constant curious ass, she was incredible with her feedback. I call her Al-fab, the fabulous Alpha editor. Thank you, Jen, for being there. 
> 
> To the mods, a huge thank you for running this challenge once again this year because obviously we all needed it. Letting go of SPN has been hard and I'm still not over it. So, thank you for continuing the challenge.
> 
> Finally, to all my readers, thank you for sticking with me. 
> 
> Note: All mistakes are mine. English is not my native language. 
> 
> Prompt: The night before her wedding, in the middle of an oh-so-smart rehearsal dinner, interior decorator Keeley chances upon her fiancé and maid of honor in flaming flagrante delicto. Keeley throws a hissy fit to end all hissy fits and storms out. The next day, though, she has to deal not only personally with a broken engagement but also with her business being shut out by folks in a town financially obligated to her ex. Rescue comes in the form of the new owner of the local bra plant. This guy is a hunk but he's also a teensy bit weird, since he hires Keeley to redo the broken-down antebellum mansion he's bought for the woman of his dreams. The trouble is, she's never met said woman. So Keeley dives in and finds that true love can come even to those who throw humdinger hissy fits.
> 
> Happy Reading!

Link to Artpost by the amazing [Aomasade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AomaSade): [Ao3](https://archiveofourown.org/works/30016872) , LiveJournal

Jensen stood in front of the mirror. He couldn't believe that he was about to get married to the man of his dreams. Oscar Wilson, the owner of _Wilson and Wilson Auto Pvt. Ltd._ , the biggest factory in his town. 

“You look great, brother mine,” Maurice Ackles, his sister, gushed from behind him. “Oscar is the luckiest man alive to have landed you as his partner.”

“Shut it, Maurice,” Jensen muttered, fixing his bow tie once again.

“Oh please, you know Oscar worships the very ground land you walk on. He’s a goner.” 

“Ugh...you’re exaggerating. Besides, we haven’t even…”

“Oh sweet lord, please tell me you’ve had sex,” Maurice exclaimed, and Jensen blushed a deep shade of red. He never knew what to say to his sister’s very outward observations. Maurice never knew when to shut up. 

“Of course I’ve had sex…” Jensen glared at his sister, offended at the accusation, even though he had never gone for full-on penetrative sex, yet. Well, don’t blame him, he was waiting to give his cherry to his one and only. And apparently, that one and only was Oscar Wilson. Tonight, the dry spell was going to end. 

“But…” Maurice prompted, waving her hand in a gesture so as to encourage Jensen to continue. 

“I’ve never … you know,” Jensen replied, making an awkward gesture by hand to imply he was still untouched in many ways. 

“Holy Shit!”

“Hey, I was waiting for…”

“Your Prince Charming.” Maurice completed his sentence, still pretty much stunned by her brother’s revelation. She knew her brother was a hopeless romantic and a stubborn bastard, but she didn’t know he held the idea of “Mates for life” so seriously. It was kind of cute though. “Man...I have to commend Oscar’s patience.”

“Maurice..” Jensen gritted out, questioning his sanity as to why he was having this conversation with his sister. 

“Three years, Jenny. For three years you’ve held back and the man never complained. To top it off, he asked you to marry him. Wow. “ 

“Hey, it’s not like I’ve never done anything. We have been...intimate.”

“Intimate...wow, you really sound like a fourteen-year-old teenage girl. “

“Ugh...why do you always harass me? Why can’t it be John helping me?” Jensen whined.

“Oh, cool it with the whining. Don’t worry. When he gets a serious girlfriend I’ll have the same talk with him, too,” Maurice answered gleefully and headed off towards the hall. 

Oscar and Jensen had grown up together, but the romance had only blossomed after Jensen came back to town as an experienced architect. Jensen had garnered his degree from NYU and then worked with good, solid firms in New York. Jensen was passionate about his work and because of his dedication, he quickly climbed the ladder, his firm offering him an associate position in a matter of only two years. It was a great achievement. But Jensen had declined the offer, instead opting for going back to his roots and setting up shop there. He wanted to base his business back at home. He was never fond of the busy city life. He rather loved the tranquility and peace back in Maple Falls. 

They had met when Wilson’s had hired Jensen to draw up the plans for building a small guest house at their estate. The professional relationship slowly turned into a personal one. It was Oscar who was drawn to Jensen, and the blue-eyed brunette had asked him for a date on the very first day. But Jensen had politely declined. He was an ethical man. Never date your boss or your co-worker was his mantra. Oscar never gave up though. Eventually, when the project was complete, Oscar had left an imprint on Jensen and had suitably impressed him. The man was a gentleman, a good son, a humble businessman, and a perfect partner. He indulged Jensen’s every wish. Jensen had finally agreed to go on a date and never looked back. Two years down the road, Oscar had proposed and Jensen had agreed. They had decided to get married at the “Centre Hall'' at Wilson Estate in Maple Falls.

Maple Falls was a small town in Texas that was always lively and cheerful. The foundations of the town were laid by the Murdoch family, originally from Dalhart, who were practically royalty in 1940. It was their winter vacation house. The family used to travel here during the winters when it became too cold in Dalhart. They owned acres of land which were inherited by future generations and given on lease to the ranchers for farming. Eventually during the fifties, because of the family feud, the Murdoch’s split, and half of their property was seized by the government while the other half was inherited by Rupert Murdoch, the stepson of the then head of the family, Morris Murdoch, who took the charge of the properties and sold the acres of farm fields to the locals. Ever since the split, the Murdoch’s never returned. Then the government took over the administration and slowly the town was modernized. The town still retained the old look. 

Today, the town was home to one big factory and two wineries. The people were good-natured, and most of the townsfolk had a good source of livelihood. The town retained its cowboy culture, with its regular rodeo events and weekly horseback riding events. The ranch owners were few, but solidly rooted, generations of families inheriting the business. Some people had their own businesses, while some worked for the big factory, _Wilson and Wilson Auto Co. Ltd._ , that manufactured automobile parts. The plant was located on the outskirts of the town and was set up with the advent of industrialization that was welcomed by the government. The Wilsons were well off, and a kind-hearted family. They had lent money to the people who wished to start their own business, and even invested in some. It explained why Wilson held influence over the decisions of the townsfolk. People looked up to the Wilsons with a deep sense of admiration. After all, had the Wilsons not set up their factory in the town, Maple Falls would have been deserted by now. And Jensen felt lucky that he was soon going to be a part of such a great family. 

Jensen was pacing the small room, killing time before he had to show up at the altar. They both had decided that Oscar would walk down the aisle as it was his father’s wish to see his son getting married in a proper way. 

“Hey, Jenny, let's get going,” John said, as he dragged Jensen by his arm. 

“Wait...I gotta…”

“Jensen, it’s okay to be nervous. Remember, the guy loves you. You love him. He’s not going anywhere.”

“I know, but,” Jensen looked thoughtful as he chewed on his lower lip. “I gotta pee.” He dashed from there towards the restroom that was to the left of the hall. All day he had felt restless, like something was missing or something was falling apart. He didn’t know why but there was a twisted feeling in his gut that something was going to go wrong. He couldn't put a finger on it. Just as he was about to open the door, he heard voices from inside. He leaned in and carefully listened. Someone was grunting and...moaning? 

Jensen was confused. Why would someone moan while taking a leak? He was about to knock on the door when he heard someone yelling from inside. Afraid that something might have happened, he hastily opened the door and was shocked to his core. One of Oscar’s assistants, Misha Collins, was naked and was kissing his fiance, while said fiance was buried deep inside the man. Oscar had Misha perched atop the counter in between the basin and the wall. Jensen couldn’t believe his eyes. He blinked and shook his head trying to deny the image. But no matter how much he tried, the scene remained the same. He wasn’t dreaming then. This was reality. His boyfriend of three years, Oscar Wilson, to whom he was about to get married, was having sex with his assistant, Misha Collins! 

“HOW DARE YOU, YOU FUCKING BASTARD?” Jensen shouted, knowing people in the hall could very well hear him. 

Oscar and Misha looked at him like deer caught in the headlights. 

“Jensen…” Oscar scrambled to get away from Misha, pulling his pants back up. 

“I trusted you. HOW COULD YOU?”

“Jensen...hush. Not so loud. My folks are sitting out there. Not to mention the entire town. I’ve got a reputation to maintain.” 

Jensen couldn’t believe the nerve of this man. “Your reputation? YOUR REPUTATION? You fucking asshole, you cheated on me and you’re giving me lessons on reputation?”

“Jensen…” 

“Don’t Jensen me you fucking liar. You’re just another scum who can’t keep his dick in his pants, instead of parading it all over town.” 

This time Misha interrupted, “Jensen come on man. It was just a goodbye fuck. One last time before you get married.”

Jensen’s eyebrows hit his hairline, “ONE LAST TIME? How many times was it, huh? Tell me how long this has been going on!”

“Umm...let me think…” Misha answered smugly. He never liked Jensen and he always wondered what Oscar found in this man. 

Jensen moved so fast, he himself didn’t know when he charged at Misha, punching him in the face. “Shut the hell up. You...you are the culprit.” Misha was knocked down on the floor, moaning in pain, hands covering his nose. Jensen was about to punch the man again when Oscar held him by his arm. 

“That’s enough Jensen,” Oscar yelled, trying to keep Jensen from attacking again.

“Don’t you touch me, you fucker.” Jensen pulled his arm back. “You prick, how could you?”

“It’s all your fault, Jensen. A man can only wait for so long. I had enough patience all these years. But…”

“Oh, so you’re saying you went behind my back and cheated on me just because I didn’t put out for you?” Jensen snarled.

“Jensen…” Oscar spoke, quite exasperated, but wasn’t able to complete his sentence as Jensen interrupted him. 

“Shut the fuck up. I can’t believe I was going to marry you,” Jensen said, his voice breaking a bit. He couldn’t even look at the man. Just the thought of standing near the man made him nauseous. He walked out of the bathroom and straight into the hall when he heard Oscar yelling after him.

“That’s just it, isn’t it? Throw a fit like the bitch that you are and walk out. That’s your style.”

“How dare you?” Jensen yelled back. He could feel everyone looking at them. 

“How dare _you?_ How dare you deny me? Me? I’m Oscar Wilson and I always get what I want.”

“You know what pretty boy? You are right. You always get what you want. Just like you got to fuck that secretary of yours because you could no longer keep it in your pants. Which means you got a booty at your beck and call and you once again are going to be the talk of the town. You got what you wanted. And guess what else? The wedding is off. Don’t you dare show me your face ever again, you cheating bastard.” Saying this, Jensen walked out of the hall. He rushed to his car and drove away towards his apartment. He couldn’t believe this was his fate. He had loved the man with everything he had and lost him just because Oscar would rather fuck his slut of a secretary rather than getting married to Jensen. 

All Oscar had to do was ask him, explain his needs, and Jensen would have given him what he needed. Instead, his fiance, well ex-fiance, thought it appropriate to have sex with someone else. A single tear rolled down his cheek. Until today Jensen was at his happiest. He was in love. He had a loving fiance and he was about to get married to the love of his life. 

And now he had lost everything. Jensen angrily wiped at his eyes and decided that right now he didn’t want to think about anything. His only plans for the moment were getting hammered, eating junk food, and passing out. 

That was exactly what he did once he reached his apartment, in that exact order.


	2. Chapter 2

Jensen spent the whole week wallowing in his misery. He felt dejected. He had no motivation to work or do anything except to eat, drink, and sleep. He had switched off his phone, not caring about anything else going on in the world. He was sure his friends and family must have tried calling him, but he was in no mood to be interactive. His childhood friends Christian Kane and Steve Carlson had attempted to visit him, pounding on the door for more than ten minutes, but Jensen had plainly ignored them, opting to pull the sheets over his head and closing his eyes. He wanted to be alone and have nothing to do with the world outside. Jensen’s routine was narrowed down to getting up with a huge hangover, standing in the shower for a long time, ordering take-out, watching sappy, romantic movies, and drinking till he passed out. Rinse and repeat the next day.

Jensen’s alone time was cut short though when one day, his door opened with a click and his brother stepped inside. 

“What the fuck?! It stinks in here. What the hell have you been doing, Jensen?” John asked the moment he stepped inside his brother’s apartment. He knew he needed to intervene when Chris had called him to let him know that Jensen was refusing to talk to them. It was rare for Jensen not to open up to Chris and Steve. They were his best friends and Chris always found a way to make Jensen talk. But when they failed, big guns needed to be called in. Which meant it was usually John Ackles coming to the rescue of his little brother. Growing up, the brothers had been pretty tight, but eventually drifted apart when John went to the University of Texas to become a doctor, and Jensen went to New York to get his degree in architecture. They still talked, and Jensen still needed his brother, but those instances were quite few and far between. Like today, when Jensen had been locked in his apartment for over a week now and refused to come out of his shell after the whole wedding debacle. 

Jensen was asleep on the couch when John had entered his apartment. He blinked slowly when he heard the door open, ready to pounce on the person who dared to interrupt his alone time, when he saw it was his brother coming through. He wasn’t surprised though. After Chris and Steve had stopped by, he’d expected his brother to slam through his door any minute. And now here he was anyway. Jensen groaned as he sat up slowly, his head was killing him. “What are you doing here?” he asked John in a displeased voice. 

“Well, someone had to come here and knock some sense into you. Jensen, man, when was the last time you cleaned up in here?” John scrunched up his nose as he took a look around the room. There were bottles lying everywhere and half-eaten take-out boxes littering the coffee table. The newspapers were laying in a haphazard manner on the floor and the empty packets of chips were piled up on the chair. In short, it felt like a hurricane had blown through. 

“That’s none of your business,” Jensen grumbled. 

“When your cell is switched off and you don’t answer your door, you make it my business.” 

“Ugh...shut up.”

“I’m here to do the exact opposite of that. Look, everyone knows what an asshole Oscar is. It was quite painful to watch your relationship fall apart, practically in front of the whole town, but that doesn’t mean you stop living Jensen.”

“It’s just been a week. At least let me have some alone time to digest the fact that my long-term relationship was in fact never a relationship. The fucker was fucking his slut secretary for years. I can’t believe I fell for him. _God_.” Jensen closed his eyes and held his head in his hands. He knew his brother wouldn’t stop bothering him until Jensen got a grip on the situation. “Wait, let me get dressed and we can talk then.” He got up and headed towards the bathroom, stepping right into the shower.

Jensen took his time cleaning himself. Once he was fresh and dressed in clean clothes, he padded towards the living room only to see his brother had cleaned up after him. He felt a little guilty. Jensen was somewhat OCD when it came to keeping his place neat and clean. It was a running joke within his friend circle that Jensen couldn’t call himself OCD. He’d have to call himself CDO because the latter was incorrect alphabetic order. Jensen would always retort by saying that it just goes to say that among them all, he was the only grown-up. So when he saw his brother cleaning his apartment, it triggered his senses and he immediately scrambled to help John clean up the remaining mess. 

When they were done, they each took a can of soda and sat down on the couch in the living room, side by side. John pulled his brother in a side hug as he slipped his hand on Jensen’s shoulder and pulled him towards his side. 

“Jensen, I’m sorry for what happened at your wedding. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must have been for you. But, man, hiding in this apartment and not looking after yourself isn’t going to take the pain away. Nor is it going to solve your problems,” John spoke softly.

“I know, John. But I feel so helpless. I was so stupid to think that everything would fall into place eventually. I never thought that being a sappy romantic could ruin my life.” 

“Hey now. Don’t say that,” John admonished his little brother. “Jensen look at me.” When his brother looked at him, finally, John spoke again, “Your life is not ruined, you understand me? Saying that is like letting that bastard win. Oscar was a fucking prick. He’s a loser. He couldn’t see just how lucky he was to have a wonderful man like you as his better half.” 

Jensen smiled softly at his brother’s words. John always knew how to make the best out of the worst situations. It was one of the reasons why Jensen admired his brother. He was an optimist. 

John was glad to see the small smile on Jensen’s face. “And Jensen, please don’t change. It’s the sappy romantic in you that makes you innately Jensen. It’s your unique identity. If that son of a bitch couldn’t understand you, then he wasn’t the one. He wasn’t the one you’ve been looking for all your life. He’s not suited for you, Jensen. Your one true love is out there somewhere. Trust me, you’ll find him.”

“Thanks, John.”

“You’re welcome, brother. Now get out of here and start living your life. Go to work, meet your friends, have dinner with us. Mom is worried about you, you know. Get yourself busy. The more you socialize, the more you’ll start to realize that throwing away even a minute of your life for that piece of shit is not worth it. Your time is valuable, Jensen. You’re made for greater things than that slimy bastard.”

Jensen took every word his brother said to heart and vowed that he wouldn’t let Oscar drag him down. The brothers spent some time together just talking about their family, remembering the happy times. In the end, Jensen promised to look after himself and visit them soon. John was thankful that Jensen hadn’t let his stubbornness eat him alive. It was in these times that John felt grateful that he shared a tight bond with his brother. 

The next day Jensen got up early and went about his morning routine. He went for a jog, which was a bit awkward as everyone at the park seemed to be giving him looks and talking about him in hushed tones. He gathered it was bound to happen after the whole 'wedding gone wrong' debacle. He didn’t pay too much attention to the gossip-mongering and focused on himself. When he came back home, he headed for a shower. He had eggs, toast, and fruit for breakfast. The first thing he decided to do was call his friends and family. He called Chris and Steve first, starting with an apology for not opening up the door that day and for being a dick. They both forgave him quickly, but Chris threatened him that if Jensen ever did that again, he’d barge in by breaking down the door and kicking Jensen’s ass. They talked for a while and made a plan to meet up at the cafe sometime soon. Next up, he called his family, assuring his mother that everything was okay and that he was getting better. He promised his father he’d see them soon. Jensen truly felt lucky to have such a loving and caring family and friends around him. 

Initially, Jensen didn’t want to go out of the house. But he was renewed with hope that maybe things would be better one day and he’d stop hurting. So, he got dressed and headed for his office. Danneel, his secretary, was sitting at her desk when he entered. The moment he entered, she went into panic mode. 

“Sir...I...I didn’t know you were coming in today,” Danneel said, coming around her desk, clearly taken aback by Jensen’s presence. 

“Why? You didn’t think I had retired, did you?” Jensen teased her, trying to ease the tension. 

Jensen had hired Danneel when he'd met the woman at Wilson’s office as she was trying to get a job. Jensen had been there to meet Oscar and had seen Danneel hurriedly exiting the office where the interviews were being held. Intrigued, he had followed her and found her desperately fighting her tears. He had calmed her down and asked her what the problem was. Turned out, she was a PA at the firm, and then eventually the firm had closed down. Faced with sudden unemployment, her parents had asked her to come back and seek a job here in Maple Falls. Unfortunately, it had been six months and she had yet to get a job. Looking at her portfolio, Jensen was impressed, and his previous secretary, Stacy had just gotten married and left the job. Jensen took the opportunity to give her a chance. The next day he called her for an interview and ever since she’d been managing Jensen’s contacts. 

“N-no, Sir, nothing of that sort. It’s just….I’ve been trying to get hold of you…” Danneel trailed off, not knowing how she should let Jensen know just how much trouble they were in. 

“Danneel, calm down. What happened?” 

“Umm...two days after the wedding, I got a call from Morrison's. They have hired an Austin-based firm and have dropped us as their architects. Then a day later, the Ultra Machine’s executive, Ms. Kennedy called and they canceled their contract with us. Even Carl Gregson called and they said they’re forced to drop us. Sir, we’re only left with two clients now, and I’m really worried they might turn us down, too,” Danneel said, her voice trembling. 

Jensen was beyond shocked. His mouth was dry. He was out of the office just a little over a week and most of his contracts were gone. “Why...why didn’t you say something sooner? Why didn’t you call me?”

“I tried Sir, but your phone was switched off. I even came to your house but no one opened the door. I didn’t know what to do. I’m so sorry, Sir.” Danneel started crying, as if it was all her fault.

“Hey...it’s alright.” Now more than ever, he was regretting staying at home. “Di...did any of them give us a reason for suddenly terminating their contracts?”

Danneel looked up at him. There was something akin to pity in her expression which Jensen couldn’t understand the reason behind, “They said they cannot work with you because...because….”

“”Because?”

“Because you canceled the wedding with Mr. Wilson,” Danneel whispered, afraid of Jensen’s reaction. She felt bad for him. He was a good man and a great boss. To see this happening to him was really sad. 

“What?”

“Sir, there’s talk in town that Mr. Wilson has asked everyone to cut off any kind of relationship they had with you…”

“Say no more.” It dawned on Jensen what was going on. “Thank you, Danneel.” He was enraged. How dare Oscar do that to him? But more than that he was furious with his clients. They’d known him for a long time. Some of them had known him since he was a child. And yet they had bowed down to the pressure. The first thing he did was call Morrison's. 

“Hey, Charles, this is Jensen. What the hell man? How can you terminate the contract with my firm without proper intimation?”

“Jensen, I’m sorry son. I didn’t want to pull out, but you know Oscar. The Wilson’s lent me money so I could afford my son’s higher education. I owe them. They forced me to cancel the deal with you or else face the consequences.”

Jensen gasped at the information. Never in his life would he have thought Oscar would be so cruel as to threaten people. But it seemed Jensen never knew the evil Oscar that was hidden behind the mask of a supposedly decent man. 

“You can’t give in. You know he cheated on me.”

“I know son. I know. But he says he’s going to make sure you come back to him crying and begging. I’m so sorry, Jensen.”

Not in the mood to hear anything else, Jensen hung up. He felt betrayed. He called Oscar, furious with white-hot rage. “You bastard,” Jensen said when the call was picked up.

“Hello to you too, honey.” Oscar’s voice penetrated his ears and Jensen could tell he was mocking him. 

“How dare you? You cheated on me and now you think you’ll turn my clients away with threats? “

“I don’t think, sugar. I did.”

“You smug bastard, what do you want? Why don’t you leave me alone?”

“Oh sweetie, after the stunt you pulled in front of everyone in town that day, I think you deserve this. And you’ll slowly come to understand that your place is with me, by my side.”

“Oh my God, how did I ever think that you were a good man? I cannot believe I couldn’t see beyond that mask and found out just how cruel and evil you are.”

“Jenny man, come on. It was just a fling. You forget you are mine. And I’ll see to it that I get you back.”

“In your dreams. You think if you shut down my business I’ll come crawling back to you? You’re wrong. I will close down my firm or sell my business before I would ever come back to you. You think you’re so awesome. Wait till karma catches up with you.” 

Jensen slammed the phone down and paced his office for a while. He knew only two clients were left with him, and if Oscar managed to ruin those too, then he was truly fucked. He’d literally have to close down. So before Oscar could do anything, he called both his clients and they assured him that they had no connection with Wilson's and are going to stand with Jensen. After the two calls, he was able to take a breather. He immediately started working, catching up on his week’s absence. He stayed late in his office, working and calling his contractors, ensuring that his only remaining clients got A+ quality stuff and they got no chance to complain. 

That night Jensen decided to go to his parent's house. The moment he saw his mother, he broke down, releasing all of his pent-up frustration. His brother and father were angry at how the Wilson's had treated Jensen. His father even offered to go and talk to Oscar and straighten some things out, but John urged him to calm down and think this through because Oscar was probably waiting for that move. The man must have anticipated it already. His mother was cursing the Wilsons. Amid all the chaos, Jensen once again was thankful that his family loved him enough to take on the most powerful people in town without fearing the consequences. Seeing the fierce love and protectiveness he was enveloped with, Jensen knew he’d cross this bridge too. 


	3. Chapter 3

Jensen still gets sad and pissy. The people in town talked behind his back, and he was on the verge of almost closing his firm. His entire life, all Jensen ever wanted was to start a firm of his own, be successful, have a husband who loved him, and a house with a backyard. In other words, a perfect apple pie life. For the past few years, he was sure he was about to achieve his dream by marrying Oscar, but to Jensen's horror, he’d been living in a fantasy. A fantasy that came crashing down right in front of his own eyes when his ex-fiance had cheated on him. In front of him! At their wedding! 

As if that was not enough, Jensen’s asshole of an ex had the nerve to spread rumors around the town that Jensen was too vanilla in bed, making that the reason why Oscar had to turn to his whore of a secretary to satisfy his needs. Moreover, the fucker had even threatened Jensen's clients and forced them to terminate their contracts with Jensen’s firm. The remaining two clients had suspended their contracts temporarily. Between everything that was going on, Jensen was barely holding on, trying to be brave, refusing to give Oscar any inch of satisfaction. 

This morning Jensen was headed for the _Coffee House_ cafe where he was supposed to be meeting Chris and Steve. The cafe was their go-to spot whenever they wanted to chat or hang out before going to work. It was ten minutes from his apartment so Jensen had decided to walk instead of taking his car. He was planning on leaving soon for Austin, or even Houston, where he had some friends who could help connect him with some clients. Maybe that would help kickstart his work. He was praying hard that the plan would work, or else he was going to have to shut down his business. 

Jensen was still engrossed in his thoughts when he heard someone snicker behind him. He turned around to find two elderly women sitting on a bench nearby, whispering. He was sure they were talking about him. He walked towards them, sick of the constant gossiping, and observed that when the women saw him coming towards them, they had immediately schooled their features, a look of guilt on their face for being caught gossiping. 

“Is there a problem, ladies?” Jensen asked them, voice hard as steel. 

“No,” one of them squeaked when called out. 

“No problem.” She was trying hard to look everywhere but at Jensen. 

“Then what was all that whispering about?” Jensen asked, folding his hands in front of him. 

“Oh, nothing. Just discussing the weather and all. It’s really hot, right Sheryl?” The other woman responded, eyes darting around and speaking too fast.

“Yeah exactly. So we were just…”

“Cut the crap,” Jensen growled angrily. He felt smug when the women immediately shut up and looked at him, eyes wide, clearly petrified. “Let me tell you what’s going on. That bastard Wilson goes around spreading rumors about me and you people - who have nothing left to do in life except for poking your noses in other people’s lives - are having fun snickering about me behind my back.” He was now shouting. A few passersby gave him a look, and he took a deep breath before smiling sweetly at the ladies. “Oh by the way, how is your husband treating you, Sheryl?” 

“H-he’s very good to me, I’ll have you know.” Sheryl, the one with the pink scarf answered. 

“Aww...that’s so sweet,” Jensen cooed. “Well then, from what’s being said around, why don’t ask your friend, Lauren, here about just how good he’s treating her in bed?” He smiled, satisfied at the look of horror on both their faces. “Have a good day.” Jensen dismissed them and left, listening to the yelling match that started just a second after. 

_Payback’s a bitch baby._

Jensen reached the cafe and saw Chris and Steve were already waiting for him at their table under a huge umbrella. It was their reserved spot, to the left of the door of the cafe. The cafe had a big front yard, many tables situated around, and inside was a huge dining hall. It served as both a cafe and a bakery. The cafe was previously a house, which had been converted into a cafe when the last owners died. Garry Miles, one of the veterans, bought the place to start his business and try to settle into civilian life. It was an instant hit among the locals. More so for Jensen and the gang because it was kind of a midpoint for them. All their workplaces were equidistant from the cafe. 

“Morning, Jennyboy,” Chris yelled, as soon as he saw Jensen turn around the corner and enter the cafe. 

“Don’t call me that,” Jensen glared at his friend. 

Steve could sense his friend wasn’t in a good mood. “Well, someone’s in a mood. What happened? Why the poop face?” 

“Fucking gossip girls man. People shouldn’t laugh at others when their own houses are on fire,” Jensen grumbled.

“Wow...pearls of wisdom, dude. Who was it this time?” Chris asked, while calling for Alona, the cafe barista. “Right here, sweetheart.”

“Let me guess, was it Sheryl, whose husband is having an affair with her widowed friend Lauren?” Steve said, keeping his voice down. 

“How did you know?” Jensen raised an eyebrow.

“Well, let's just say we live in a small town and after you, theirs is the only gossip that’s been going around. And while yours is true, poor Sheryl might be doomed,” Steve chuckled, cracking open the bottle of water and gulping it. 

Alona approached them, “Hey asshole,” she remarked, looking at Chris. It was their usual banter. Chris hitting on her and Alona turning him down every time they visited. Jensen was always amused at how persistent Chris was. He always flirted with her despite her humiliating him all the time. Jensen couldn’t fault his friend though. Alona was beautiful and smart and any guy would be lucky to have her. “Going with the usual, boys?” 

“Yes, sugar. Except, Jenny here would like some cherry pie for himself, to cheer him up,” Chris replied, turning into a lovesick fool, gazing lovingly at Alona. 

“Is that right? Everything okay Jensen?” Alona asked gently, turning towards him. She was one of the few people who had become Jensen’s friend after hitting on him the first time they met. Jensen felt bad telling her that he didn’t swing her way when she looked so sad. But over time, they had overcome the awkwardness and had become very good friends. 

“Yeah, just...the usual stuff.” Jensen gave a small smile, trying to assure her. From the look on her face, he knew she wasn’t convinced and he knew she was going to barge into his house soon, demanding answers. 

“Alright, one black coffee, two lattes, two tacos, one burrito coming right up. And of course, one cherry pie, which is on the house,” Alona repeated their order, then left. 

“What did you say to them, the gossiping women I mean?” Chris asked, back to the subject once Alona was gone.

“I told her the truth.” Jensen shrugged.

Chris’s booming laugh echoed around the cafe while Steve doubled over, laughing so hard he sprayed the table with his mouthful of water. 

“You’re a bitch, Jenny. Man, it must have been fucking awesome to watch their faces,” Chris said, trying to control his laughter. 

“Well, they started it.” Jensen was just going to update his friends about his plans to restart his business, when a sleek, black sedan parked right in front of the cafe. 

Jensen didn’t pay much mind to it as right at that moment Alona came to serve them, and the three of them promptly dug in. It wasn’t until they heard a commotion at the gate that Jensen looked up to see what was happening. 

“What’s that about?” Steve said, sitting straight up, stretching a bit to see what was going on. 

From the corner of his eye, Jensen looked at Alona, who was still standing beside their table, cursing under her breath as another barista whispered something in her ear and rushed towards the gate where quite a few people had gathered. 

“Is everything alright, Al?” Jensen asked his friend, worried at the shocked look on her face. 

Alona didn’t say anything until suddenly the people that had gathered around the gate started rushing to get inside. It seemed like they were making way for someone by standing on one side of the entrance to the cafe, gushing and murmuring. Jensen was very curious to see who this mystery person was. Unless he missed the memo, going by people’s behavior, he was almost sure the President was on a surprise visit or something. 

“What’s happening?” Chris whispered.

“I got zero clues…” Jensen was about to reply when he heard Alona.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Alona whispered. 

Jensen caught her looking transfixed at the door to the cafe, and followed her line of vision only to suck a breath in sharply. 

A guy walked in their direction, dressed in black jeans and a white shirt, which was folded up to his elbows to display the strong veins and muscles in his forearms. He was wearing a cowboy hat over, beautiful, auburn hair that curled down his neck to brush his wide shoulders. He was slender and tall...as tall as...Jensen didn’t know what but simply put, the guy was beautiful. Jensen observed the guy almost as if, in his head, the man was walking in slow motion. 

Jensen heard Chris whistle slowly, “Is that the business tycoon, the man of everyone’s dreams, Jared Padalecki?” 

“Man…I never thought I’d see him in person. He’s the one that runs the _Stone Avenue Brewing Company_ , right? Their beers are awesome, dude.” 

  


“I know. He’s like the wet dream of men and women alike. Sadly, he doesn’t swing our way,” Alona mentioned, a hint of sadness to her voice and Jensen’s ears perked up. He’d only heard about Jared Padalecki when people gathered in a bar and talked about celebrity gossip. He was not one to read the Page 3 stuff in the newspaper so he never knew what was going on in "Celeb Town." But he knew the man by name, and he also knew that _Stone Avenue Brewing Company_ , or _SAB_ as everyone called it, was into brewing craft beers. They were a bit expensive but definitely worth it. Jensen himself was a fan of one of their Amber Ales. But he’d never heard that Jared Padalecki was openly out. 

Once the guy was closer, Jensen could see he was even more beautiful than Jensen had first thought. The man had cat-like, slanted eyes which he wanted to get lost in, a pointy nose which he wanted to boop, rose pink lips which he wanted to kiss, and moles that made him look even prettier. Jensen was starstruck. He was so busy staring shamelessly at Jared Padalecki that he forgot staring at someone was not good manners. Jensen blushed a bit when the man’s eyes caught him, and he cleared his throat. 

“Hi,” Jared smiled, his dimples coming out in full force. The man had fucking dimples that made Jensen go weak in the knees, and his voice was sweet like sugar to Jensen’s ears. One quick moment of their eyes meeting had Jensen’s lower brain taking a sudden interest and that’s when Jensen knew he was in big trouble. 


	4. Chapter 4

Jared Tristan Padalecki was known as a ruthless businessman. This was partly because when it came to business deals, he was ruthless, but also because he had worked hard to achieve the kind of success that he’d reached. Jared had inherited the brewery business from his father, but it wasn’t as prominently known at the time. Jared was a straight A, Harvard Business Graduate, with a goal to make his mark in the business world. He had strived and taken enormous efforts to make _Stone Avenue Brewing Co. Ltd._ a household name. Today he had breweries located around the world and had invested in many small breweries, trying to support them. Plus, his looks came in handy at times when a deal was being finalized. 

Jared grew up in a loving household in Sacramento, California. The Padalecki’s were originally from San Antonio, Texas, but his father saw an opportunity in California, and eventually, they settled there. His parents, while they didn’t come from money, worked hard and earned enough to give Jared a good upbringing. His family was ecstatic when after high school he was accepted into Harvard's Business program. It was at the same time that he had decided to come out to his parents. Growing up, it wasn’t easy to be identified as an openly homosexual man, and while Jared had never heard his parents speak ill about the gay community, they never supported it either. Jared had been scared out of his mind the first time, at the age of 15, he got a hard-on from watching Henry Garfield, a quarterback on the football team, as he played during a practice match. 

Jared had run to his friend, Chad Michael Murray, rambling about how he was going to be disowned and left to rot by his family. Chad, being the true friend that he was, had given him a head slap while calming him down. 

“ _Don’t be such a baby. So you like men over women. It’s the way you were made. There’s nothing wrong with that and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I don’t think your parents will kick you out, because dude, they love you. And if they do, you can come live with us. I’ll share my family with you. Besides, you being gay means more girls for the Chadmeister. It’s all great, my man_.” 

Jared still didn’t let his parents know that he was gay. But by the time he graduated high school and was accepted at Harvard Business School, Jared thought what could he possibly lose? He was going to be away from home and he had a full scholarship for the program. That’s why he had decided to let the cat out of the bag when he told his parents about being accepted to Harvard. 

The day Jared finally told them, he realized that all his fears were for naught. His father had just clapped his back and proceeded to ask questions about his scholarship. His mother had hugged him, saying they already knew he was gay when even at the age of 16 he didn’t have a girlfriend, and he'd never looked twice at Missy Bloom, daughter of a family friend when she practically gave him a lap dance after getting drunk at one of the high-end parties on a Cruise they had gone on for a vacation. 

From then on, it wasn’t a secret anymore. His father had instilled in him the values of truth and trust-building as one of the core factors of establishing a successful business. When Jared took over his father’s business, he never proclaimed his sexual orientation, but if anyone asked, he proudly told them that he was gay. And if anyone had a problem, he simply gave them directions to the door. 

Soon his success caught the eye of the media and he was termed as the newest rising star in his industry. At a very young age, Jared had achieved what most could only imagine, resulting in him getting near-constant media attention. Suddenly he was thrown into the life of interviews, photoshoots, functions, etc. Jared didn’t let his success go to his head though, he was polite but firm in his acceptance of the limelight and he saw this as a golden opportunity to help the LGBTQ community. In his interview with _Business Today_ magazine, he came out as gay and put a positive focus on the rights of the LGBTQ community. His interview gained him respect and hatred in equal amounts, but fortunately, it didn’t hamper the growth of his business. People in the trade weren’t interested in Jared's personal life. They were only interested in the amount of money he was ready to invest. 

Ever since then, Jared hadn’t looked back. His company was doing great and expanding at a rapid pace. The branches were spread out all over the world. In fact, just last week, he had been to France to finalize a new deal to set up the first brewery plant of _Stone Avenue Brewing Co. Ltd._ in the country. And now, after months of struggling and some strings pulled by his best friend and now fashion designer, Chad Michael Murray, Jared had finally found a place to set up shop in Texas. Being from Texas originally, it was his dream to go back and settle there someday. Jared had heard so much about his home state from his father and he was always fascinated with the prospect of getting to know a unique culture. And when the opportunity came, he didn’t let it slip from his hands. 

A few months back, Jared caught wind of the news that a once-famous winery, _Jubi Wines_ in Maple Falls, Texas was shutting down. A plan immediately formed in his mind. This was a perfect opportunity and perfect place to start his business. He immediately asked his secretary, Traci Halls, to find out everything about the town called Maple Falls. The town was a small, cowboy country, with only a few big industries that gave the townsfolk their job security. He decided he would contribute to the local employment and establish his brand in Texas, starting in Maple Falls. After extensive discussions with his team, the idea shaped into reality and he was granted the license to convert the winery into a brewery. As was his style, once it was approved, he wanted to visit the town himself, mingle with the community, and get a feel of the place. So Jared set out, his team following behind, to visit Maple Falls. 

  


The town was bustling with life. Jared was fascinated with the animated way in which people interacted with each other. There were two kids playing in the park as his car passed by, some ladies gathered around, having a good laugh. It seemed quite serene. Jared had a driver with him so he could easily find the the exact location of the winery, but he decided to stop by the coffee shop they were nearing. His intention behind doing so was was to mingle with locals.The moment he got out of the car, people started gathering around, looking at him curiously. The small town must not be used to watching fancy sedans pull up, nor were they used to having celebrities or big businessmen visiting them. So, it wasn’t surprising to get curious looks. 

What Jared never imagined was stopping by a coffee shop only for his eyes to land on one of the most beautiful men he had ever seen. As Jared walked in, he saw a trio of men sitting at a table to the left of the pastry display case when he saw "Mr. Beautiful" and realised he was staring back at Jared, he was giddy with the knowledge that he had caught the gorgeous man’s attention. What enamored Jared, even more, was the fact that the man had the greenest eyes he'd ever seen, shining like emeralds. He had blonde spiked hair, he was lean and muscled, with pouty pink lips, and pale skin. He was beauty personified. 

When Jared came alongside the table, he could see freckles dusted along the bridge of the man's nose and cheeks. Jared immediately wanted him. Then he suddenly remembered that he was in Texas, and while society was more open these days, he shouldn’t ogle the man so blatantly in public. Jared thought the guy could very well be straight and might just be starstruck; recognizing Jared, and that could explain the staring. But Jared could interpret the hint of lust visible in those emerald eyes. It was gone just as quickly as it had flashed though. It left Jared wondering about the man. However, the blush on the man’s cheeks when he greeted them “hello” was a sight for sore eyes, and oh, how Jared wished he could see it every day for the rest of his life. 

“Hi,” Jared greeted. 

“Hello, how may I help you?”. Jared was expecting a response from the man, but instead, the waitress jumped in. It didn’t escape his attention that the waitress and the handsome man exchanged looks. Well, someone responding was better than complete avoidance, Jared mused. 

“I'm Jared Padalecki. New to this town. I was wondering if one of you could maybe help me with directions to Jubi Wines.” 

Alona was observing Jensen more than Mr. Padalecki. Sure, Padalecki was one long, tall glass of water. He was extremely handsome, and she would give anything to be arm candy at his side. She knew she stood no chance because the man clearly wasn’t interested in her. No, his eyes had been fixed on her friend since the moment he stepped inside the cafe. Alona had then trained her gaze towards her friend. To her surprise, Jensen was staring right at the man. She rolled her eyes. It was so unfair that two of the most handsome men she'd ever seen would fall for each other. Considering the way they were staring at each other, she had no doubt that sparks were flying between them. Then the man greeted Jensen, and she was surprised to see her friend blush bright red. She could tell Jensen was embarrassed. One look at the helpless, pleading green eyes, and Alona jumped in to save her friend. 

“Nice to meet you, Mr.Padalecki. You’re kinda hard not to recognize. I’m Alona. As you can see, I work here.” Alona gestured at her outfit, “May I ask why you wanna go to _Jubi Wines_? Because that place is in shambles.” 

Jared smiled. He looked around the table and saw the long-haired man sitting beside the green-eyed man looking at him, as if judging Jared. Jared gathered they must be connected somehow, _Or I could be reading too much into the situation, his brain told him_. Maybe he was the boyfriend, Jared thought morosely. He decided to take the waitress, Alona, in his confidence. Looking at her body language and how she had exchanged looks with the man of his dreams, he was sure she knew everything about the green-eyed beauty. He turned on his charm, smiling wide, dimples popping out in full force. 

“Nice to meet you too, sweetheart. Well, I wanna go take a look at _Jubi Wines_ because I’m the new owner of the property and I plan on opening an outlet of my beer company there.”

“Wait, you’ve taken over _Jubi Wines_? When did that happen?” the blue-eyed man suddenly interrupted. Jared was really getting annoyed with the man now. 

“Why do you ask? It's a free country. Everyone has a right to expand their business. The owner of _Jubi Wines_ declared bankruptcy and I decided to save him by buying him out. And it happened exactly three months back, Mr…”

“Kane, Christian Kane, owner of the _Manor Ranch_.” Chris stood up, extending his hand. He didn’t like this businessman one bit. He was far too sure of himself. Considering that his buddy Jenny was hot for this guy, it was Chris’ duty to ensure his friend didn’t end up with another douchebag - especially after the whole debacle with Oscar Wilson. 

“Right, Mr. Kane.” Jared stretched to his full height and shook hands firmly with Mr. Kane, letting the man know that he wasn’t intimidated by him at all. “Thanks for your concern. I really appreciate it. So, you don’t mind me taking a look at that property, do you?”

Chris was stumped. “Well, you _are_ the owner now, why would I object?”

“Well the way you questioned me, I thought you had some vested interest in the property.” Jared shrugged, eyeing the man cooly, with composure. He didn’t like the man or the way he was being interrogated. 

Chris gritted his teeth. It was true what he'd heard about Padalecki. The guy was a handsome devil. It was slowly dawning on Chris why people easily gave in to Padalecki’s demands. He could see the guy was a capable negotiator, if not a bit intimidating. 

“No man, you’re free to do whatever you wanna do with it. I got no stakes involved.” Chris knew the man was growing impatient with him. “Ow,” Chris yelped, as a particularly hard kick was felt on his leg. It was Steve, warning him to back down. “Sorry,” Chris apologized, grudgingly. 

“Not a problem.” Jared plastered on a smile once again and turned his attention towards Alona, “So, as I was saying, can you show me to the address please?” 

Alona was silently cursing Chris as she listened to the whole conversation. Seriously, Chris needed to back off. Sometimes the guy didn’t know when to stop. “Yes, of course. Sorry for that. Chris sometimes forgets his manners. Umm...take a left turn…” Alona was interrupted in the middle of giving directions.

“As kind it is of you to tell me the directions, would you mind accompanying me? I’m clearly new to this town, and I wanna get to know the locals, seeing as I’ll be a part of this town now. Would you be my friend, in this town of strangers?” Jared asked her sweetly, his eyes looking at her innocently.

Well, who could deny such a sweet request and those innocent eyes that looked like a pleading puppy? The man was so cute, Alona couldn’t say no to him. She agreed to go with him. 

No less than five minutes later, Alona was sitting in the back seat of the lavish black sedan with Mr. Padalecki, giving directions to the driver. 

“So, how are things going around here?” Jared asked her curiously. 

“It’s great.” 

Jared fidgeted a bit, “Good. So, it's a small town and I’d like to know what type of …”

“Let's cut to the chase, you wanna know about Jensen, don’t you?” Alona said, eyeing the man, loving the way he turned a bright shade of pink.

Jared flushed. “Well, is that his name? Jensen?” He tested out the name on his tongue and decided he loved the feel of it. It suited the green-eyed man.

“Yeah, the blond-haired, green-eyed guy you were lusting after is Jensen. He’s my best friend.”

“I’m that transparent, huh?” 

“Transparent? Dude, you two were so busy ogling each other, I thought the rest of us had disappeared. You two looked like you would have jumped each other right then and there.” Alona cackled before turning serious. “Gotta warn you though. Stay away from him. He’s got a lot on his plate.”

That intrigued Jared. “Why, what happened?”

“It’s not my story to tell. But you know Wilson?”

“Yes. They run their plant here, don’t they?”

“Yeah, they kinda screwed him over. I can’t tell you anything more than that, but Jensen took it hard. He’s been …”

“By any chance did Oscar Wilson play any part in screwing Jensen over? If yes, I swear to God, I’ll end his career,” Jared growled, angry that the man he had developed a crush on had been harmed in any way by the scumbag Wilson. 

“Woah...woah..calm down cowboy.” Alona was a good judge of character. Listening to Jared and observing the man had put her at ease. She already had no doubt that Jared was a keeper. “No one is going to end anybody. But,” Alona cleared her throat, “if you want any help with it, I’m in .”

“That bad, huh?”

“Let’s just say the guy deserves unbelievable pain for what he did to Jensen,” Alona said grimly, remembering the day very well and how broken Jensen was after that.

“Alona, whatever happened, I’m sure it wasn’t Jensen’s fault. Oscar is a grade-A asshole. I’ve run across him before in business dealings and he’s always a jerk”

“How do you know?”

“You kidding? That guy has a reputation for being a crass human being in business circles. He’s screwed over many people.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah. Don’t you people know?”

“Well, no, the thing is the Wilsons basically run this town. They legitimately employ half of the people, and the other half are in their pockets. They’ve helped people by giving them loans to support their businesses. So you can imagine why people don’t speak against them.”

“Wow, that sucks,” Jared said. “Hmm...you think once my brewery is up and running people will apply for jobs there?” 

Alona looked at him, surprised. “You’re going to employ local people?”

Jared was confused, “Yes of course. What did you think?”

“I thought you’d have your people coming in from big cities to work here.”

“If I do that it’ll defeat the purpose of setting up my brewery here. Alona, I never indulge in that practice. I know many people do, but _Stone Avenue Brewing Company_ believes in generating local employment. Trust me, my brewery won’t be employing people from outside this town. I intend on ensuring my staff is 80% local. And we also plan on training them in life skills, you know, how to live a sustainable life. That will help them grow as human beings as well. We run many such programs for the well-being of our staff.”

Alona looked up at Jared with immense respect. Usually, the corporates targeted small towns to set up their industry, and later exploited the town folks in the name of development. To hear that a business tycoon like Jared Padalecki was concerned about the local people and their welfare was refreshing. “You have no idea how grateful the people of Maple Falls will be. For a long time now there’s been talk of the entire town being in the clutches of the Wilsons. People will jump at the opportunity to welcome your business here.” 

“I’m glad if I can help set people free out of Wilson’s torture cell.” Jared gave her an assuring smile. “So, umm, does Jensen work for Wilson?”

“Oh no! And I’ve never been more glad that he doesn’t. He’s an architect and runs his own firm. But lately…” Alona trailed off, debating if it would be wise to tell Jared about Jensen’s troubles. 

“Lately?” Jared prompted, and something told him that whatever he was about to hear was only going to infuriate him more.

“Listen, Jared. I know you are attracted to Jensen and I’m glad you’ve taken an interest in him, but please know, he’s been through a lot. So, if you are interested in Jensen only to pass your time…”

“Wait a minute. I know we don’t know each other that well, but considering I’ll be spending the next few months in this town, there’s something you should know about me. I’m not a playboy. It’s not my style.” 

The declaration was an earnest one. Alona could see it in his eyes that Jared was a genuine person. “Okay. I’m trusting you here, Jared. But know that if you end up hurting Jensen in any way, I don’t care how big of a businessman you are, I will kill you.” The threat had to be given. Jensen was her best friend. And they all had missed the bus while blindly trusting Oscar. But Alona had a chance to not repeat the same mistake. She was going to be watching the man closely, despite being sure that Jared was a good man. 

“If I hurt Jensen, I myself will give you permission to kick my ass.”

“Alright. Here’s the deal. Jensen lost all of his major clients when Oscar screwed him over. He’s at the end of his rope. I think only by some magic trick will he be able to save his firm from closing down. So, you see, he’s in trouble. I don’t want you to add to that.”

Jared was now beyond furious. He was confused too. He didn’t know Jensen from Adam. Yet, the thought that someone had hurt Jensen pulled at his heart. Never before had he felt such a strong pull towards a stranger. There was something in those soulful green eyes that spoke to his very soul. He was attached to Jensen. Until now Jared had only heard about love at first sight, but now, he was sure he had already developed feelings for the man who he hadn’t even spoken to yet. “If I can help, trust me, Alona, I’ll use my magic wand.”

“Jared, it’s going to be a tough road for you.”

“I’m ready to walk through the road ahead of me. Jensen’s worth every single minute of it.”

Listening to the determined voice, Alona felt like this could be the guy who could bring Jensen out of his shell, and maybe, just maybe, her friend will be able to find happiness. 


	5. Chapter 5

After listening to Alona, Jared thought about making a plan. What was the best possible scenario he could come up with to get closer to Jensen? Because Jared couldn’t stop thinking about the green-eyed beauty even for a single second. Thoughts of Jensen had worked their way into Jared’s heart and soul. It was weird, Jared knew, but he couldn’t help it. One look at Jensen and he’d felt as if he’d known Jensen for all of his life that there was a deep bond ; although as yet undefined,between them. 

But one thing was clear. Jared needed Jensen like he needed air to breathe. 

A few days passed while Jared set himself up at the best inn the town offered. It was important that he stay there while his construction crew started to work on converting the winery into a brewery. Jared had a few encounters which were weird, but he’d been used to women fangirling over him in the past. The receptionist at the inn asked for his autograph on her bra. It was awkward for Jared and he managed to escape, laughing it off, but boy was he relieved when he was behind the closed door of his room. 

Two days later, Jared’s assistant manager, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, flew in and they had a meeting with regard to opening up the job positions for the residents. It took multiple conference calls with his people back at the HQ in Sacramento for the framework to be drafted in order to start recruiting people. 

“Jared, the location of this town is perfect. It’s cheaper to transport from here and the major cities of Texas are more or less at an equal distance from here. We should have set up our Headquarters here instead,” Jeffrey remarked as they sat in the lounge chairs on the balcony of Jared’s room, drinking beer. 

Jared sighed, looking at the huge expanse of the racecourse that could be seen from the balcony, “I know. I’m thinking about it.” 

Jeffrey almost spilled his beer. “Jared, I was just joking.” He coughed a bit and put his beer bottle down on the table between the chairs. “You are not really considering it, are you?” 

“I know.” Jared turned in his chair to look at Jeffrey, “Yet, it already feels like I’m part of this town. I’m not saying that I’m definitely going to move my company’s headquarters here, but...I would be lying if I said that settling down here hasn’t crossed my mind.”

“Jared, it’s only been like five days that you’ve been here,” Jeffrey exclaimed. 

“Look, JD, I understand what you’re trying to say. You of all people know how I hate being in Sacramento. Hell, part of the reason I choose to travel and seal the business deals myself is that I can go away from the chaos of the city. Look around, see how beautiful and serene this town is. I’ve never felt so peaceful.” Jared mentioned, his mind wandering to Jensen, the man who had captured his heart on day one. 

Jeffrey listened to Jared and he had to agree that he’d never seen Jared so in his element. Usually, their meetings would end up making Jared cranky as he went over dozens of scenarios always questioning his employees over possible fallout situations and their contingency plans, which were never satisfactory. It would take a minimum of five meetings for Jared to finalize a project, but this time, quick decisions were made, Jared offering the solutions right away, ignoring to comment on the incompetence of some of his economic advisors. There was a certain calmness to Jared’s aura that Jeffrey couldn’t deny. Although he had an inkling as to what it was all about. 

“Does this have anything to do with the handsome man we saw yesterday?” Jeffrey narrowed his eyes as he looked at Jared. After extensive meetings, they had ventured out of town and had dinner at the _Lake’s Taco Joint_ , right next to the sidewalk of Lake Ramone, situated at the outskirts of the town. It was a beautiful view. The sidewalk was lit with street lights, and there were a few people sitting on the benches, some playing guitar. There was this one man, wearing a cowboy hat, who was playing guitar along with his buddies, who Jared was staring at the whole time. Jeffrey had to admit that the man was handsome, but not once had Jared mentioned anything about having a crush on someone. Listening to Jared talk though, he couldn’t help but think that maybe there was something going on that he wasn’t aware of. 

“How do you know?” An astonished Jared asked.

“Well, yesterday you hardly could look away from that cowboy and now today you’re talking about settling down in this town. I just put two and two together, man. Besides, it's not like you’re being very covert about it or anything. I could plainly read the desire oozing from your eyes for that man yesterday.” Jeffrey shrugged.

Jared smiled. “I’m that transparent, huh?”

“Hey man, I’m all for you finding love and settling down for good. Just be very careful dude. You come from a wealthy background, we don’t want anyone lusting after your money rather than you.” 

“You do know that in this case, it’s me lusting after him.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t hurt to warn a guy. Look, Jared, it’s good to be attracted to that guy, but have you even talked to him yet? Does he feel the same about you? These are the things you should consider before you decide to change the location of the headquarters of your company. Not to mention moving your entire life here.”

Hearing that, Jared ducked his head down. “I haven’t had a chance to meet him yet.”

“Then what are you waiting for my man?”

“JD, I had a chance to talk to the guy’s friend and she mentioned some stuff about how Wilson screwed him over.”

“Wait...Wilson as in Oscar Wilson?” Jeffrey asked, suddenly irritated at the mention of that man.

“Yeah. That Wilson,” Jared replied. “Wait, what do you know about him?”

“Jared, that's the guy who was supposed to marry Wilson, and ended it on the day of the wedding because…”

“Stop, Jeff, how do you know about that?” Jared demanded from his wide-eyed friend. 

“Well, two days ago I was out on my morning walk and I heard a group of ladies gossiping about how Wilson deserved better and that his ex didn’t even let him touch him. Maybe he was having an affair behind Wilson’s back.”

“Jeff, that’s enough.” Jared was angry at his friend for believing the gossip. “We both know how this gossip works. It’s none of our business to believe in it. Do you trust Wilson? A slimy bastard like Wilson is prone to spread rumors about Jensen rather than take the heat himself. I believe Wilson screwed over his ex and then spread the lies so Jensen had to face the heat. And do you know, Wilson has threatened to shut down his business too? He’s an architect, and if all his clients end up abandoning him, he’d be forced to shut down his firm.”

Jeffrey suddenly took a defensive position, trying to calm Jared. “You’re right Jared. I’m sorry. We shouldn't believe gossip unless we know the facts. But man, you need to be very careful with the guy.” 

“That’s why I’m saying he’s not exactly in a position to trust anyone at the moment. Considering the things I know about him, it isn’t easy to find a way to approach him. I don’t wanna be shot down. Jensen is too precious to me.”

“So, we’re already on a first-name basis. Cool,” Jeffrey teased his friend, earning him a punch to his arm. 

“Ow, alright, just joking. Seriously though, Jared, if you like him then make a move.”

“Really? I just told you why it’d be a bad idea and now you’re telling me I should make a move.”

“No, I’m saying you can be more subtle in making a move,” Jeffrey smirked.

“Well, what do you suggest?” Jared looked at his friend, hands crossed over his chest.

“Well, you say you wanna settle down in this town?”

“Yes.”

“Then buy the Texan villa,” Jeff said easily as he picked up his beer bottle and took a long gulp.

“What? Why would I buy a villa?” 

Jeffrey rolled his eyes. His boss could sometimes be really oblivious. “You just said Jensen’s an architect, right? Well, then to spend some time with him you’ll have to engage him in some big project. This villa that I’m talking about is about a mile west of the brewery and was once owned by Col. Richard King, who migrated here after the First World War. I don’t know what happened later, but it’s been in shambles ever since. You can buy it and hire Jensen to renovate it. That way you get to spend some time with him.”

“That’s ridiculous. Why would I spend millions to buy a villa just to spend time with Jensen?”

“Oh my God, you idiot. You just said you wanna settle here. You wanna get to know Jensen and by the looks of it probably settle down with him. So, buy the house, court Jensen, and once the project is done, you’ll have charmed the man and you can be together in the house forever.” 

“It’s still ridiculous.”

“You want me to look into the villa, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. I want every detail and a purchase deal with me first thing in the morning. Now get out. I have to do an overview of the report about the Paris branch before I go to bed.”

“Yeah, yeah. I see how it is. Now that you have a solution to your problem, you don’t need me anymore.”

“Get out, Jeff.”

“Goodnight, boss.” 

As was decided, Jeffrey burned the midnight oil and compiled a proposition overnight to buy the villa. The next day, early morning, he met Jared for breakfast. 

“You think the owner will take the offer?” Jared asked, chewing on the last bite of pancake. 

“Why not? We are offering a generous amount.” Jeffrey wiped at his mouth with a napkin. They were sitting at the table in Jared’s room, going over the proposal. “Col. King’s grandnephew inherited the place and has been trying to sell it for years. I don’t know the background behind it, but yes, he’ll sell it for the first amount that we put on the table. He’s desperate to sell by the looks of it.” 

“What do you mean?” Jared asked, taking a sip of orange juice.

“The last negotiation had almost narrowed down to twenty grand. The deal fell through at the last minute,” Jeff mentioned. 

“Really? That place could easily be valued for at least a million.” Jared exclaimed.

“I know. Seems like the guy is in need of money. We’re being gracious to buy it at 50 grand.” 

“Wow. I say go for it. Tell Kevin from legal to negotiate it. I want that villa to be mine as soon as possible.” Jared demanded.

“On it,” Jeff smirked, as he exited the room. 

Jared in the meantime had a lot to think about as to what exactly he would be saying to Jensen when he met the man.

A mere three days later, Jared received a call in the morning that the deal had been signed and the villa now belonged to him. The paperwork would be taken care of by his legal advisors and they would overnight the final drafts once they were done. Jared didn’t waste a moment’s time to race over to Jensen’s firm. 

It had been almost two weeks since Jensen had encountered Jared Padalecki. Apparently, the businessman had settled himself in town. Jensen was sure it was going to be temporary. By the time the brewery would be up and running, Padalecki would be out of town. Try as he might, Jensen couldn’t get the tall, handsome man out of his mind. There was just something about him that had Jensen in knots. He was so enamored of Jared Padalecki that his plans to visit Austin and other cities were all put on hold. Jensen was perplexed by his heart’s desire to get to know the man more. Jensen had seen the guy roaming around the town and he’d tried to approach him, but there was some other bearded, attractive (but not as attractive as Jared) man sitting with Jared each time. Jensen thought that maybe he was Jared’s boyfriend. But Alona kept on insisting that Jared was single.

_They were sitting at Jensen’s apartment, drinking, when he asked her, “How do you know he’s not involved with anyone?”_

_“Let’s just say it’s one of the things I know,” Alona dodged._

_“Yeah, like you’re suddenly the All-knowing Being,” Jensen snarked. “And why am I even thinking about that Padalecki guy. I was just dumped by my asshole of an ex. I’m not worth…”_

_“Jensen Ackles, if you say the words that I think you’re going to, you better stop talking. You listen to me. You’re a great guy Jensen. A romantic at heart.” Alona glared at Chris when he snickered from behind, “but still a good man. You’re a renowned architect.”_

_“Hardly,” Jensen sighed._

_“...still an architect,” Alona continued, ignoring Jensen’s words. “And a good son and a great friend. Plus, dude, have you seen yourself in the mirror? You are pure sin on legs. Any guy would be lucky to have you. Besides, you deserve to be happy Jensen,” she said softly._

_“Yeah, you need to get out more Jenny, dive into the dating pool, get yourself some candy. There are many flavors of candy, you know,” Chris cackled from where he was sprawled out on the couch._

_“What Chris is trying to say is, you should focus on yourself, Jensen. Get out of the misery. I know it hurts, you were in a relationship with him for three years so I understand it’s hard. But you have to try at some point in time, Jensen,” Steve gave his sage advice while he drank his beer, sitting on the floor beside the couch._

_Jensen groaned. “You put too much faith in me.” He saw Alona getting ready to argue with him and he immediately surrendered. “Ok, alright, I’ll...dive into the dating pool...or whatever.” He rolled his eyes and huffed. “But how do we even know that Padalecki would be even remotely interested in me? The guy could have anyone he wants, he’s smoking hot.”_

_“Jensen, trust me, he’ll be plenty interested in you. But for that to happen you need to let him know you’re ready to take the first step.”_

_“Wow, one ride with Jared Padalecki and it’s like you know him better than anyone else,” Chris muttered._

_“Shut up, you moron. I know a man’s character just by exchanging pleasantries. Like I knew you’d bite me in the ass when I first met you.”_

_“Ohh, so you want me to bite your ass.” Chris perked up, suddenly getting up and sitting on the couch, flexing his muscles while Jensen and Steve giggled._

_“You’re such an ass, Chris. What I meant was I knew you were going to be trouble when I first met you. Just like I know Jared Padalecki will treat Jensen in a way he deserves. Trust me, buddy, he’s the right choice for you.”_

And that had been the end of the discussion.

A few days after that conversation, Jensen was sitting in his office, thinking morosely about all the ways he’d mess up his first meeting with Jared. Because Jensen was sure he’d never be able to control his nerves around Padalecki. Just when he thought about that Danneel came running into his office.

“Sir, Sir, there’s a Mr. Padalecki here to see you.” 

Jensen’s eyes went comically wide. “What?! Are you sure?”

“Unless I hallucinated, I’m pretty sure that the tall man with long hair standing outside in jeans and a plaid shirt is definitely Mr. Padalecki,” Danneel said in a dreamy voice.

Jensen did not appreciate her thinking about his man. Wait, what? Since when did he think of Jared as “his man”?! So not the point when Padalecki himself was standing outside. “Let’s be professional here, Ms. Harris,” Jensen reminded his secretary, his tone reprimanding. “If he’s here then he must be here in some official capacity. Please send him in.” Jensen watched as Danneel scrambled to obey his order. 

Once Danneel was gone, Jensen immediately rushed to the left corner of the room and quickly straightened his clothes. He was just about to pull open the door of his office when it was pushed in and he collided with none other than Jared Padalecki, the man Jensen had been lusting after. Seconds later, he found himself cradled in Padalecki's arms.

Jared had been nervous about meeting Jensen, going over the words he would say to the man in his mind. But when it came to actually meeting him, Jared was left speechless. Never in his life did he think that he would meet Jensen in this fashion. Jared had just pushed open the door to Jensen’s office when he slammed into Jensen. The impact was big enough that it sent Jensen tumbling back. Jared’s instant reaction had been to protect Jensen. He immediately scrambled to help Jensen, leaning forward, their faces too close, catching the falling man in his arms. Jared’s one hand was holding Jensen’s waist and the other gripping his arm tightly so as to ensure that the man didn’t fall and injure himself. It was as if they had taken a position for a dance. 

Up close, Jensen was even more beautiful. He had freckles that stood out against the bridge of his nose and cheeks, eyes wide, shining like a drop of rain on a green leaf, rosy lips, high cheekbones, his angular face which was covered in a pink tint... Simply put, he was gorgeous and Jared was having a hard time trying to keep his hands to himself. He wanted to dip down more and capture those lips with his, just to see if they were as soft as they seemed. Jared was sure that he’d died and was in heaven because it should be a sin to have such a beautiful creature walk the earth, unclaimed by anyone. It would only be possible to meet such a handsome man in heaven. Because God, this man was sheer perfection. It felt so good to have Jensen in his arms, his body pressed close with that of Jared’s. Jared was lost in the magical charm of those leafy green eyes when the man in question cleared his throat. 

“Y..you c-can...can you help me up?” Jensen asked timidly, embarrassed that he had almost collapsed in front of Jared. Even more so, the man had saved him from causing a spectacle by falling on his ass on the office floor! Not even in his wildest dreams would Jensen have imagined that he would be able to feel Jared’s arms around him so soon. But this was Jensen we’re talking about. When has life been ever kind to him? As fate would have it, Jensen officially met Jared, colliding against him, landing in a close dip position. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the moment. He loved the feeling of Jared’s arms curling around his waist, holding him flush against his warm body. When Jared had caught him, Jensen’s hands had unknowingly found purchase in Jared’s shirt. Jensen observed that he’d been clutching at Jared’s collar to save himself from falling down. He was so close to the man, he could smell the spicy cologne that Jared was wearing. This close, the cat-like slanted eyes were hypnotic for Jensen. He found that those hazel eyes with flecks of sunflower in them were so full of life that he wanted to melt, right there and then, and declare his intention about dating the man. But something held him back. 

That something being utter horror and embarrassment at having fallen in the arms of a billionaire at their very first meeting. 

Jared lowered his eyes and pulled Jensen up with him, letting go of the man once he was sure Jensen had found his balance. 

“You okay?” Jared asked once Jensen was standing in front of him, head ducked down. 

“Y..yeah. I’m so sorry. I was just opening the door, out of respect you know. I didn’t know you were on the other side of the door already. Are you alright? I didn’t hurt you, did I? I’m so sorry, Mr. Padalecki, I…” Jensen rambled on, not knowing where to stop once he started talking. Well, anyone would be a babbling mess when standing in front of Jared Padalecki, Jensen’s mind supplied.

Jared laughed, a nervous Jensen was adorable. “I’m fine. Besides I wasn’t playing the damsel in distress a few minutes ago.” Jared smiled, loving the blush that covered Jensen.

“I...No...I didn’t mean…It wasn’t intentional. It was by accident and...” Jensen felt his face heat up at the comment.

“It’s alright, I’m just kidding,” Jared said, extending his hand, “I’m Jared Padalecki, by the way.” 

Jensen took a deep breath before taking the offered hand in his grip and shaking it firmly, “ Jensen Ackles. Nice to meet you, Mr. Padalecki.”

“Just Jared would be fine,” Jared said, pulse jumping because Jensen was yet to let go of his hand.

Jensen blushed again, “Right...I mean, of course, Mr. ...umm...Jared.” 

Jared cleared his throat before speaking, “If you don’t mind, I’d like my hand back.” He gave an easy smile, knowing his dimples would be out in full force. 

“Oh my God. Of course, yes. Please. I mean, sorry,” Jensen squeaked.

“I’m just another human being, you know. Don’t be nervous,” Jared told the man. 

Of course, the man would think he was nervous because he was meeting a celebrity business tycoon for the first time, Jensen groaned internally. Now, who would tell the man that it isn’t because of Jared’s celebrity status, but because of his handsomeness!

“Heh...I’ll try.” Jensen finally gave up the pretense. He was caught being nervous already. Why deny? “Umm...please, take a seat.” He gestured for the man to sit at one of the chairs while he took his position at the desk. “To what do I owe the pleasure of having a big businessman like you visiting my firm?” Jensen asked, once they were both seated.

“I heard you’re the best architect in this town,” Jared stated his tone all business-like.

Jensen smiled at that, “I don’t know about the best, but yes I’m an architect. How can I help you?”

“Well, what I’ve heard so far precedes your reputation. Anyway, let’s get to business. I recently purchased the Texan villa, about a mile away from the brewery. It’s in tatters and I would like it to be renovated…” Jared said, after a pause, “by you.”

Jensen was surprised. The villa had been Jensen’s dream. He always thought that when he had enough money, he’d buy it if it hadn’t sold. It was one of those last few structures in town that had pieces of history attached to it. “You bought it? And you want me to work on it? Why?”

Jared furrowed his brows, speaking the words slowly as if he was trying to impart wisdom to a small child, “I want you to work on it perhaps because you’re an architect.” 

“I know that. I mean...why did you buy it?” 

Jared was caught. He had basically purchased it to impress Jensen, but he couldn’t tell that to the guy. So he did the next best thing that popped into his brain. He lied. “It’s for my boyfriend.”

“You have a boyfriend?” Jensen’s voice reached a higher octave and Jared raised his brows at Jensen’s tone. He immediately regretted it. Of course, a man as gorgeous as Padalecki was taken. Sudden sadness engulfed his heart. “I’m sorry. I have no business asking about your personal life. That was extremely unprofessional of me,” Jensen apologized, lowering his eyes. 

Jared observed there was a sadness in Jensen’s tone. He didn’t know why, but he knew he didn’t like it one bit. “No, that’s alright. So, I’d like to renovate the building. Would you mind taking a tour with me? I haven’t seen the villa yet.”

“You want me to go with you?” Jensen was now confused. The man said he bought the building, which he hadn’t even seen yet, for his boyfriend and now he wanted Jensen to take a tour of the same? It was weird. 

“Yes...why is there a problem?” 

“No, no...I mean absolutely no problem. But may I ask, why do you need me to take a tour with you?”

“So that you can suggest some changes that can be made? We can exchange some ideas before you start working on the plans.” 

Now that did make sense. Jensen was still not convinced why Jared was taking the first tour with him though. But he could let it slide. He didn’t want to lose a potential client just because Jensen’s dreams of happily ever after with Jared were crushed. Wait, what the hell was happily ever after? Jensen hardly knew the guy so where did the thought come from? 

Ahh...stupid brain, imagining impossible things. 

Jensen decided to focus on other things. So what if he would never get to date the man, he could still try to get to know him as a person by working with him. “Before we do that, don’t you want to know how much I would charge you? The contract that is to be signed and the labor…”

Jensen couldn’t complete his sentence because Jared interrupted him, waving his hands, dismissing the argument already, “No need for all that. I trust you know what you’re doing and you’ll be professional about it. My office will call you and take care of the nitty-gritty. Now please, would you be so kind as to accompany me?” Jared looked imploringly at Jensen, eyes all sad and pleading.

Jensen never knew that humans had the ability to imitate the sad puppy look; which Jared had almost perfected and Jensen found himself melting at that stare. He smiled, “Lead the way.” Jensen swore the smile that graced Jared’s face was so bright it could rival the sun. 

They left Jensen’s office and headed towards the villa in Jared’s black sedan. The drive was relatively silent, except for the radio that played country music. The only time they talked was when Jared asked Jensen if it would be alright with him that he asked the driver to turn on the radio. Jensen was taken aback a bit. It was Jared’s car, he could do whatever he wanted with it, why ask for Jensen’s permission? It was weird. Jensen thought it must be that high-class society type kind of thing where you politely talk to each other. If you asked Jensen it was all a big drama, because these rich people tended to be jerks behind their polite masks. Jensen nodded at that, conveying he had no problem. He cringed internally thinking that Jared probably would put on some opera-type classical music. He was mighty surprised when the radio was switched on and Jared started humming along with the song. It was country music. Jensen chided himself for judging the man so harshly, but given the recent experience he had, he was justified. 

Once they reached the villa, Jensen couldn’t stop smiling. He loved the place. It was originally built by Col. Richard King, the World War I veteran, when he decided to settle down in this town. It was beautiful, with southern Texan charm to it, and made of stone and wood. It was situated on a small hill, surrounded by wide plains of lush green lawns, fenced from all the corners. There was a pathway from the entry gate to the villa, a broken fountain standing right in front of it. To the back of the villa were stables where horses were kept. 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Jared whispered from where he was standing behind Jensen. 

“Yeah, it is. Come on, I’ll show you the place,” Jensen said excitedly. 

They went inside and Jensen started pointing out the things that he loved about the villa. The villa was divided into two parts. The main house was reserved for the King family, whereas the part behind it was reserved as servants’ quarters. Jensen never liked the idea though. He always thought that the small yard that separated the two structures should be converted into a dome-like structure with a small fountain in between. The servants’ quarters could be transformed into beautiful guest houses or even could be rented out like holiday homes in winter for tourists. It wasn’t until Jared gasped from behind him that Jensen found he had said it out loud.

“I love the idea, Jensen. It’s perfect. Would you be able to do that?” An excited Jared asked. 

“You like that?” Jensen asked hesitatingly. He didn’t mean to say it out loud. He didn’t have to worry though. Apparently, Jared loved the idea. Jensen was a bit sad that he’d never be able to buy the house, but he was happy that he was getting a chance to renovate it. 

“Definitely.” It didn’t escape Jared’s notice how lively and excited Jensen would get while walking about the villa and describing the things that he’d like to change. There was a glint in his eyes when he would suggest a change made, or a color scheme that would suit the room. Jared decided that he would let the renovation plans be done in whatever fashion that Jensen liked. And by the time the project was done, he’d gift it to Jensen. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Jensen’s face when he realized that he was the boyfriend Jared had been talking about all along. 

“What else can we change in the main house?” Jared asked him, a hopeful expression on his face. 

Jensen smiled at the genuine happiness on Jared’s face. He loved that the guy appreciated his suggestions. He still thought it was weird that the man kept asking him what he would like to suggest when it should have been his boyfriend. He kept quiet though, happy with the thought that he was given free rein. “Umm...we can...oh yes, the room beside the living room can be converted into an office and the corner one upstairs can be changed into a solarium. We can also add a Jacuzzi and a swimming pool in the garden between the guesthouses and the stables.”

Jared thought about it for a minute and smiled, “I’d like that.” 

The entire tour went the same way. Jared would ask Jensen to suggest the changes and Jared getting more impressed with every idea. At the end of the tour, Jensen was buzzing with excitement at the thought that all his suggestions that he wanted to incorporate in the villa were approved. 

“So, by what time would you be able to draw up the plans?” Jared asked as they headed towards the car. 

“Well, the plans could be ready by the end of the week. I can show them to you then,” Jensen replied. 

“Wow, that’s fast. I’m impressed,” Jared said, looking at Jensen intently, hoping his message was understood loud and clear that he was really impressed with the architect's ideas. 

Jensen didn’t like the way Jared looked at him, there was heat in his eyes that made Jensen blush. It was wrong, the guy already had a boyfriend. But not once had Jared done anything that made him uncomfortable, apart from the fact that he kept insisting on Jensen’s advice about the renovation. “It’s funny, you know. In a way, this place is now completing a full circle,” Jensen mused. 

“What do you mean?” Jared was confused by the sudden change of topic.

“Well, Col. King’s grandson, Roman, was the last descendant of the King family to occupy this villa. He was the last one who renovated this place. This used to be a ranch from what I hear. This grand structure that you see, was built by Roman King for his wife, Tabitha. It is said that Roman and Tabitha met when he was off for a hunting trip with his buddies. She came from a working-class family and he was a rich man. Their union was considered taboo. Tabitha’s family was opposed to them getting married. They thought Roman had cast a spell on their innocent darling daughter. They accused Roman of being a warlock. But they loved each other dearly. So, they eloped and got married. It is said that when Tabitha’s great grandmother heard about Roman building a house for Tabitha, she cursed that misfortune would befall whoever wished to live a happy, married life in that house. Unfortunately, she passed away and it is said that Roman couldn’t deal with the loss. He became an alcoholic and a gambler. He almost had gambled the villa away when his uncle stepped in and retained it for a heavy price. Roman died in an accident shortly after that. Ever since the King family has abandoned this place.” Jensen sighed before continuing, “And now, you’re the new owner of this villa. And coincidentally you’re buying it for your boyfriend. I really hope and wish you two a very long and happy life together so you can undo the spell.” 

The story was moving. It was about undying love and heartache. Jared watched the way Jensen had looked at the villa longingly while telling the story. There was a hint of sorrow surrounding the man. He knew a little bit about Jensen’s past and he thought Jensen must have brought up his feelings about his ex. Maybe Jensen longed to be loved just as much as Roman loved Tabitha. 

“I promise you, Jensen, you’ll be loved just as much, perhaps even more than how Roman and Tabitha loved each other,” Jared murmured to himself. He cleared his throat, smiling apologetically as Jensen flinched. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. It’s a beautiful story, Jensen. Thank you.” 

Jensen smiled at the man. It didn’t reach his eyes though. “I’m glad. We should get going though. I have some appointments…” Jensen trailed off, not knowing how to continue. Ever since he was young and had heard this story, he wanted someone to love him just as much as Roman loved Tabitha. For a long time, he thought Oscar was the one, but that dream had painfully shattered right in front of his eyes. Telling the story to Jared had brought some feelings of helplessness back on the surface. He couldn’t please Oscar and now Jared was already out of his reach. Seemed like Jensen had a type, rich boys who were already with someone else. He wanted to be left alone to deal with his heartache. 

Jared sensed the urgency in Jensen’s tone, his shoulders hunched, eyes shining with unshed tears, sadness was clearly written on his face. “Sure. Let’s go.” Jared opened the door for Jensen to take a seat in the car and watched dejectedly as the man turned around and walked to the other side of the car, opened the door, and got inside without even looking at Jared. 

At that instance, Jared wished Oscar Wilson died a painful death.


	6. Chapter 6

A week passed by and Jensen had run into Jared twice. Once was at the coffee shop that Jared swore was a coincidence, and once was at the lakefront, which was another coincidence. Jared had been very open and friendly with him both times. But there was something about him , something in his eyes that made Jensen really wonder if Jared even had a boyfriend. Because in Jensen's mind, if Jared was making such a grand gesture for his boyfriend, it must be pretty serious between them. And yet, said boyfriend had never made a trip to town. Not that Jensen was keeping an eye on Jared or something. It was a small town and the ladies loved to gossip, more so with a celebrity in their town, everyone knew who visited Jared. So it wasn’t that hard to keep tabs on Jared. Especially because the entire town was fascinated with Jared Padalecki. Half of the people were already in love with the tall, handsome guy. Jensen couldn’t fault them though, because Jared was absolutely lovable, always smiling, always joking around, and bubbling with life. 

Jensen on the other hand was bitter...at the whole world, generally. He should be happy. He deserved to be happy, but somehow fate didn’t agree with him. Because he was developing feelings for a person he could never have. He was sick of feeling so lonely and seeing how angry and snappy he had become, Chris, Steve, and Alona had taken him to the bar, hoping to help him out of his misery. 

Two glasses of whisky and Jensen told them everything about what happened with Jared. Alona had been furious, walking away, not able to believe that Padalecki was an asshole just like Oscar. Jensen had tried reasoning that Jared wasn’t like Oscar as they had never dated. In fact, Jensen reminded her that not once had Jared made a move or expressly shown any interest in him. Everything fell on deaf ears when Alona walked out of the bar, leaving Chris and Steve looking at him sympathetically. 

He didn’t want their sympathy. No. He wanted someone else. He wanted to melt in those strong arms again and never get up. Alas, it wouldn’t even be happening. But hey, a guy could dream. 

One bright morning, Jensen headed towards Jared’s temporary office that he had recently rented just opposite the brewery. Jensen had learned this when he bumped into Jared at the lakefront just yesterday), hoping his renovation plans would be approved. When he reached the office, his mouth fell open, his heart beating faster than the second hand of his watch, blood rushing through his veins, and a warm feeling pooling in his stomach. 

Standing at the front of the office was Jared, shirtless, in black jeans, talking to a bearded man, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, that Jensen had the opportunity to meet the day after they toured the villa when he came walking into his office. Jensen found himself unaccountably relieved when he, introduced himself as Jared’s manager.

Jared’s tanned skin, muscled abs, long and strong arms, hair flowing in different directions, sweat covering his chest...Jesus Christ. Jensen had only felt the arms around his waist once, and now to see the man half-naked, made Jensen’s nether regions take a sudden interest. Jensen would give anything… _anything_ to worship at the temple that was Jared Padalecki’s body. 

Jensen could have easily stood there for another hour, his mind full of scenarios that varied from vanilla to hot to dirty within seconds. It was Jeffrey Dean who looked up and waved at him that had Jensen controlling his thoughts and walking towards the two men. 

Jared smirked as he felt eyes on him. He knew Jensen was due to visit him today. He was talking to his crew at the brewery about half an hour earlier when a construction worker who was handling a crate of white paint slipped and fell down, spilling some of the paint on Jared who was standing nearby. The result of which was Jared’s blue t-shirt was ruined and he had to get out of it before the paint seeped through and touched his skin. Jared always kept a spare in his car, so it wasn’t much trouble. Jared had just taken off his t-shirt when JD came in to talk. He got so engaged in the chat that he forgot to rush to the car to get a clean shirt. Then he saw Jensen’s car heading towards them from a distance and promptly ignored that the man had spotted him and was staring at him. 

“Good morning, people,” Jensen said as he approached the men.

“Good morning, Jensen,” Both men said in unison. 

“Well, are you ready with the plans?” Jared asked, enjoying the blush that painted Jensen’s skin when he looked at him.

“Yeah, I’m ready...I mean, the plans are ready, if you want to look at them…” Jensen was speaking, carrying three charts with him in an attache, trying his best not to think too much about the half-naked man standing in front of him. 

“Them? As in more than one?” Jeffrey asked. 

“Yeah. Usually, we present the client with multiple scenarios so they can choose one from many choices. Or take different concepts from the plans and demand a completely new set. It’s normal for us.”

“I see. Well, which one of the plans is your favorite, Jensen? I mean if given a choice, which one would you go for?” Jared asked, looking for the smile that always graced the man whenever they talked about the villa. 

Jensen was once again thrown off. Wasn’t the guy supposed to look at the plans and ask for his boyfriend’s input? He didn’t ask it out loud though. He was a professional after all. And he wasn’t going to interfere in the man’s personal life. “Well, I think I love the second one the best. But you should look at them and ask your boyfriend…”

Not for the first time since he came up with the idea of having Jensen renovate the villa, Jared had slapped himself internally. He knew he had screwed up when he said he purchased the villa for his boyfriend. What else could he have done? Jensen’s question about the reason behind buying the villa had taken him by surprise and he panicked, speaking whatever came into his mind first. Although he was intent on making Jensen his boyfriend by the end of the project, he was starting to question his sanity because around Jensen he seemed to have zero control over himself. All he wanted to do was please the man. 

Jared knew his plan would come to bite him in the ass later on. Which did happen when a furious Alona walked into his room several days ago, late at night.

_“What the hell do you think you’re playing at, you lying bastard?” Alona thundered._

_Jared’s eyes went comically wide. He didn’t know the reason behind Alona’s outburst. “What are you talking about?”_

_“You told me you had no boyfriend and that you’re interested in Jensen. And now I find out that not only are you in a serious relationship, but you also bought the villa for your boyfriend. Damn it, I fell for your charm. You are no different from that douche Wilson. All you rich brats are the same.”_

_“Alona. I’d control myself if I were you,” Jared warned, his tone dropping dangerously low enough to shut up Alona. “Wilson is a grade-A douche. And if you want to be in my good graces, I’d suggest you stop comparing me with that son of a bitch. Now, calm down.”_

_Alona had been so angry after listening to Jensen. She had thought Jared was a genuine guy, but after listening to Jensen she didn’t know what to believe anymore._

_“Jensen said…”_

_“I know what Jensen told you, Alona,” Jared spoke, understanding and appreciating her protectiveness towards Jensen. “But trust me, I don’t have a boyfriend. This is all a ruse...a part of a plan, and if you would just sit down for a minute I could explain it to you.”_

_Jared had told her about his conversation with Jeff and his plan about letting Jensen renovate the Villa the way he wanted so that he could ultimately give it to him._

_Alona had listened patiently, smiling in approval at the end._

_“You’re an idiot,” was all she said._

“No need,” Jared dismissed once again, waving his hand, nose twisting in distaste, “I trust you, I’m sure whatever you’ve come up with will be classy and tasteful. When do you propose to start the work?” 

“I have my crew on standby. If you want, I can ask them to start working as soon as tomorrow,” Jensen suggested.

“That’d be wonderful,” Jared said cheerfully, loving the smile that graced Jensen’s face when he told him that he could have free reign over whatever he wanted to change. 

From then on, Jensen worked with his crew tirelessly to bring the villa of his dreams to life. Occasionally (almost daily) Jared visited the site or his office, wherever Jensen was working that day, claiming to track the progress. But they wound up talking about anything and everything except for the progress on the villa. Jensen found out that Jared was originally from Texas and his family had moved to Sacramento, that he was an only child, and that he loved horseback riding and his favorite movie to marathon was the ' _Die Hard_ ' series. In turn, Jensen shared some anecdotes of his past life. Their friendship was building slowly, but it was based on a good foundation of mutual respect. It was odd how the man steadfastly avoided the topic of his boyfriend, and it bugged the Hell out of Jensen. But he gathered that one day he’d get to the bottom of it. 

Every time Jared visited him, he brought various flavors of beers that _Stone Avenue Brewing Company_ was currently trying to blend. He would ask if Jensen liked a particular flavor or not. Jensen found it adorable when Jared went on and on about what ingredients went into brewing a particular flavor, etc. Jensen loved to listen to Jared talk so passionately about his business. They even had lunch together with Jared bringing some extra sandwiches or soups that he could share with Jensen. He would invite Jensen back to his office some days, but Jensen always politely declined. They already spent too much time together, enough to raise some eyebrows. He didn’t want to be the topic of gossip all over the town once again.

A few months passed and Jensen hadn’t yet received the next installment of raw material. The transport was held back because of a landslide on the route, and there was some delay expected. Jensen called Jared’s office to let him know but he wasn’t there. He called Jared’s personal number which went directly to voicemail. Huh...this was unusual. It practically never happened that he called Jared and his call went unanswered. Worried, he called Jeff, who by now had become Jensen’s friend as well. 

“Hey, Jensen. What can I do for you?” The voice said from the other end.

“Hey, Jeff. I was trying to call Jared but he isn’t picking up his phone. Is everything ok?” Jensen asked, chewing on his lower lip.

“Jared? Oh yes, he’s right here. Actually, we’re all inside the brewery. The final training session is going on. Jared’s giving the concluding speech.”

Jensen was relieved to know that Jared was alright. “Oh thank God. He never avoids my calls, so when he didn’t pick up I thought…”

“It’s alright kiddo. Tell you what, why don’t you come down here and have lunch with us, hang out a bit. You need to relax, you work too much.”.

“No, I don’t wanna impose…” Jensen was interrupted mid-sentence.

“Nonsense. I insist, you are coming. End of story. See you in a bit.”

Jensen chuckled, the man was persistent. “Alright, I’ll be there.” Hanging up, he headed out of his office, giddy with happiness because he was going to see Jared. 

Jared thrummed with excitement ever since JD told him that Jensen was joining them for lunch. JD even told him to calm down because an excited Jared was a human version of a puppy finally getting to go for a walk. 

“Have you told him yet that you’re launching a new cinnamon-flavored beer in the market soon and have decided to name it _Jack’s Rack_ in his honor?” Jeff asked a visibly blush-colored Jared. 

“No, he’s still shifty with me. If I tell him that, he’ll run for the hills and never come back. He still thinks I have a boyfriend, so it can backfire.”

“So, it’s too early to tell him how you feel about him?” Jeff asked, feigning innocence, knowing very well it drove Jared crazy.

“Listen, man, as much as I would like to indulge in this debate, we have a crew to talk to. And I won’t give you the pleasure of poking me in front of the crew. I’m a cool boss, not someone who blushes all day and has a hard-on whenever he thinks about a particular green-eyed beauty,” Jared muttered the last few words in a low voice, but they were enough to send Jeff into a fit of laughter. Jared was talking to some of his team members when he saw Jensen walking in. He excused himself and headed over to greet Jensen. 

“Hey, Jensen. So glad you could join us.” 

“I had to. Jeff insisted after all.” Jensen smiled, warmth tingling down his spine as it always did whenever Jared was around him. 

“Oh yeah, JD told me. I’m sorry I couldn’t pick up your call. I was scheduled to have an interaction with our trainees. I left my phone in the office,” Jared apologized. 

“It’s alright. Jeff told me. I was worried initially …”

“You were worried?” Jared felt extremely happy to know that Jensen cared about him. He was sure it wasn’t the way he cared about the man, but hey, he’d take it for now. 

“Yeah, you never ignore my calls so when it went to voicemail, I thought you might be in trouble,” Jensen told him, mumbling the last few words, knowing it must sound weird to Jared. He was afraid that Jared might assume the worst (which wasn’t the case because it was a good thing!) and think that Jensen had feelings for him. Especially since Jared had a boyfriend already, whom Jensen hadn’t seen yet.

“It’s ok. It really means a lot that you cared enough to call JD to inquire about me. You’re a true friend, Jensen,” Jared said sincerely. 

Just when Jensen was about to respond, he heard a voice that sent anger and betrayal buzzing down his body.

“Well well well, so it’s true after all,” Oscar Wilson spoke, voice loud as he strolled into the brewery as if he owned the place. 

“What the Hell are you doing here, Wilson?” Jared said, voice booming as he clenched his fists at his sides, flexing his arms, posture rigid with tension.

“I just came in to see if the rumors are true.” Oscar blinked his eyelashes innocently.

“What are you talking about?” Jared stepped towards the man, getting more furious by the minute. He had seen the look of shock and anger that had come over Jensen’s face when he heard Oscar’s voice, and the way his entire body tensed up. He knew this man had once hurt Jensen, and he refused to let him do anything to him again. 

“It seems like Jensen got himself another sugar daddy. Only this time, it seems he let you fuck him. Hey Jensen, what did you see in this guy that you let him pop your cherry?” Oscar cackled as he spoke, not knowing what was about to hit him. 

Jared watched as Jensen flinched and his whole body stilled, eyes wide with shock. Jared roared with fury and charged at Oscar, grabbing the man by his collar, “How dare you, you filthy uncouth jerk. How dare you insult Jensen like that?”

Oscar was scared because Jared was tall and heavily muscled, and if he decided to he could very well twist Oscar’s neck and he’d drop dead on the floor in a second. Considering Jared had him by his collar, he knew he shouldn’t overreact, but Jensen was here and he had his honor to defend because he intended on getting Jensen back. “It’s true. Do you know we were supposed to get married? Do you know that I had to fuck other guys for the entirety of our relationship because Jensen wanted to wait to do it after we got married?” 

“I’d shut up if I were you, Wilson,” Jeffrey warned, as he rushed towards Jared who was minutes away from tearing the man apart, literally. He knew Oscar had a bad reputation, and the way Jensen was looking pale and disturbed, he knew this man was the reason behind the problems Jensen had been facing. Otherwise, he would love to help Jared get rid of the asshole, but the staff was here and they weren’t assassins. He gently gripped Jared’s arm, “Jared, let him go. He’s not worth it.” 

“No,” Jared’s voice boomed through the hall as he yelled, “this man entered my premises without invitation and dared to insinuate such false accusations against my friend. He deserves to be kicked.” 

“I know Jared, but we don’t want to get into any sort of trouble for this bastard. Jensen wouldn’t want you to get in trouble, Jared.” Jeffrey used his last resort when nothing else worked. 

“Yeah, listen to your bitch, Jared,” Oscar murmured before yelling loudly, “Tell me, Jensen, what does this man have that I don’t? Why did you chose him and not me? Did he pay you, huh? Is that it? I could have given you...ow.” Oscar didn’t have a chance to complete his litany of vitriol when he was punched hard and fell to the ground. Pain shot through his face as he felt his nose break and the hand covered in blood.

“You punched me, you asshole,” Oscar accused Jared. 

“Yeah. And if you don’t get out of here immediately, you’ll find yourself thrown in jail. Before that happens, I suggest you get the Hell out of here right this second,” Jeff remarked, glaring at the man while trying to keep Jared from punching him again. 

“You can do whatever you want Padalecki, but Jensen will be mine again one day,” Oscar spat, before he walked out of there. 

“You can try, you asshole. I promise you, if I ever see you again anywhere near Jensen, I’ll bury you so deep, even your family won’t be able to find you. That’s a promise, Wilson,” Jared yelled at the retreating back of the man. 

Jared's chest was heaving, still buzzing with anger at the audacity of the man. The moment Oscar was gone, he rushed towards Jensen. “Are you alright?” 

Jensen had witnessed everything. It felt almost like a tussle between two Alpha males fighting to win his approval. The way Jared reacted, the way he punched Oscar, the way he threatened the man...all of it threw him off balance. Because Jared had stood up for him. Him! The guy had a boyfriend, and yet Jared acted more like he was Jensen’s boyfriend, all red and angry on Jensen’s behalf. He had expected to hear nonsense when Oscar entered. What he never expected was for both Jared and Jeff to stand up for him, and Jared going as far as punching the man in the face. He had also heard the threat Jared issued. It sounded like Jared was protecting Jensen, but they were just friends and Jared wasn’t the type of guy who would hit on someone else when he was already in a committed relationship. , Was he? Jensen was now more confused than ever because he didn’t know what the Hell was going on. 

“Am I alright?” Jensen parroted. “Jared, look at you, your knuckles are swollen. I wasn’t involved in a fight. You were!”

Jared shook his throbbing hand and gave a tentative smile. “Yeah, but it was worth it. That asshole had it coming.” Jared relaxed a bit when he saw a small smile appearing on Jensen's beautiful face. They stood there staring at each other for a long time until Jeffrey cleared his throat from beside them. 

“So, that was dramatic,” Jeff spoke, trying to lighten up the situation. Once Oscar was gone, he gave the boys the space they needed and worked on dispersing the crew that had gathered around listening to the exchange of words. He observed the way both Jared and Jensen interacted with each other, and once he saw both of them visibly relax, he interrupted them. “And if we’re done with the drama for today can we please have lunch now? Because I invited Jensen and I don’t want him complaining to everyone that I was not a gracious host so as to forget to serve him with food.” The three of them shared a laugh and headed towards the buffet lunch that was ready and waiting for them. 

Everyone was sitting at the tables, chatting and enjoying the meal. Jared along with Jeff made rounds, mingling with the crew to drop in to have a casual chat. Jensen, meanwhile, was seated at the corner table, pushing the food around on his plate, going over and over the words Jared had said. He was engrossed in analyzing and over-analyzing things when Jared sat down in the chair opposite to him with his own plate of food. 

“Hey, you don't like the taste of the food?” Jared asked.

“No...I mean, yes, the food is great, I’m just, not that hungry anymore,” Jensen sighed.

Jared put his fork down, wiping his mouth with the napkin, “Is it about Oscar? I’m sorry he came in like that, but I didn’t know he was intending to drop by. I’ve known him for a long time now. He’s really a messed up dude.”

“You don’t have to apologize for him, Jared. You didn’t insult me. He did,” Jensen replied, appalled that Jared apologized for someone so crass as Oscar Wilson. 

Jared smiled sheepishly. “I know, but he still came in and said all those words while standing on my property. I should have thrown him out sooner.”

“It’s not your fault. Besides, that’s not the only thing that has been on my mind,” Jensen swiftly replied, avoiding more talk about his ex. 

“You want to talk about it? About Oscar?” Jensen looked at him, uneasy, and Jared realized maybe he’d pushed the matter too far. Jared quickly rambled on, trying to ease the tension. “Or...or anything that is troubling you. I’m a good listener and it helps to share things, you know, talk about things that trouble you. I’m not saying it makes the problems go away, but it feels good, like the burden is off your shoulders and then it also…I’m rambling, aren’t I?” Jared asked, when he saw Jensen trying to hide the laughter that threatened to escape. 

“A little bit…” Jensen smiled at the nervous man. He loved how Jared could be all business-like and intimidating one second and a big softie the next. “It’s just, everyone knows what happened between me and Oscar and it still hurts.”

“Hey, I can understand. I was just trying to help. I know it can be hard to open up, especially to a complete stranger…”

“You’re not a stranger, Jared. At least not anymore. And that’s not the reason why I never spoke about Oscar,” Jensen interrupted the man, feeling guilty about not opening up to him sooner because that led to Jared thinking he was a stranger. Which was the complete opposite of what he truly felt for Jared. 

“Oh thank God, I thought I was gonna have to launch another tirade about how we are far from strangers.” Jared chuckled. “I consider us friends, Jensen. After all these months, I’d like to think we have built this relationship out of trust and respect.”

“Yeah?” Jensen asked as if asking for confirmation.

Jared saw the conflicting emotions flashing in Jensen’s eyes. He placed his palm over Jensen’s hand, which was playing with his spoon nervously, as a comforting gesture. “Hey, it’s alright. Whatever it is, I would never judge you, Jensen.” 

Jensen took a deep breath before speaking, “Oscar and I were together for three years when he proposed. He was so caring and loving at the start, I guess I was blinded by the charm. Now that I think back I can see the faults…” He let out a deprecating smile before continuing, “I’m a romantic at heart. I was always the kinda guy who thinks that there’s only one person specifically made for you. I didn’t wanna jinx anything. What Oscar said about me being a virgin, that’s absolutely true. Because I feel like when I give myself to my partner completely, I want it to be special. I want to feel that thrum of excitement and electricity that rushes through your veins. I guess I was right in resisting Oscar’s attempts at getting me into bed. Doesn't mean I haven’t been intimate with anyone. I just never...you know...”

“Hey, I understand. You don’t have to justify anything to me.” Jared’s voice was soft as he assured Jensen. 

Jensen looked up and saw empathy in Jared’s eyes. He wasn’t sure if he could have handled pity coming from Jared. But the guy seemed to know just exactly what Jensen needed. “Oscar was...always busy going out of town for many days at a time. Claimed to have business meetings. I realize now, it was so that he could get away from me and fuck as many people behind my back as he could because he had blue balls. And I was the stupid man in love who believed him. I trusted him when every night he told me he loved me. I trusted him when he said that we were going to grow old together. I trusted…” Jensen choked up, all those feelings rushing back. 

Jared saw how emotional his friend was becoming. He quickly excused himself, left the table, and came back with a water bottle, offering it to Jensen, who was trying to calm down a bit. 

“Thanks,” Jensen said gratefully, gulping down the water.

“It’s alright Jensen. Do you wanna stop?”

“No, I need...I need to get this out.” Jensen took the last few sips of the water and continued, “We were getting married that day. Everyone was invited because Wilson’s employs more than half the town. It was gonna be a big wedding because...Oscar wanted it to be big. I was nervous that day, hoping everything would go well. But then, when I went to the bathroom, I saw…” Jensen gulped down the lump in his throat, “I saw him fucking his secretary, Misha Collins. Seemed like they’d been doing it for a long time. I just exploded, calling off the wedding very publicly. Oscar told everyone that we hadn’t done it yet, and the whole town knew about my sexual life in a matter of minutes. I spent days being miserable and alone. My brother had to kick some sense into my brain to give me a new purpose. But when I went back to focus on my business, I found out Oscar had threatened more than half my clients because they owed him money. I lost everyone except maybe two. I was the topic of gossip for the town for months. My wedding was supposed to be the start of the happiest days of my life, instead turned out to be the worst.” 

“Gosh, I’m so sorry, Jensen,” Jared said after a long pause, letting Jensen ground himself.

“You literally saved me. I was thinking about how I could revive my firm or if I should just shut it down when you gave me an opportunity. You have no idea, but you coming into my life has been kind of a boon,” Jensen told Jared, sincerely.

“No Jensen. It was all you. If I had not heard people praise your work, I probably wouldn’t have employed you.” Which was a pure white lie, but Jared let it slip because right now he had to raise the self-esteem of his friend. 

“You know for a long time I believed I was at fault. I was…”

“No, Jensen. You were never at fault. You believe in true love and I really think it’s beautiful. You’re a gem of a person, Jensen. You’re kind and beautiful and a hard-working man. He’s an idiot for choosing his fuck toys over you. If Oscar cannot say no to holes it’s his problem.” Jared smiled when Jensen laughed at his words. 

“He really can’t. I learned later that he had many one-night stands.” 

“Oh yeah. He’s infamous in business corridors for being a slut,” Jared mentioned.

Jensen nodded. “Thank you,” he said after a few minutes of pause. 

“For what?”

“For not judging me. For trusting my side of the story and for being there.”

“No, Jensen, you never have to thank me. I’ll always have faith in you, Jensen.” Jared looked straight into Jensen’s green eyes, hoping he was able to send a clear message. “Besides, friends never judge each other. They support each other.” 

And Jensen thought that he would never fall in love with anyone after Oscar. But after this conversation with Jared, he went home with a heavy heart, questioning the universe why didn’t he deserve a partner like Jared? 

Scratch that, why couldn’t Jared be his?

That day was the first time Jensen felt the feeling of jealousy sparking inside him. Jealous of Jared’s boyfriend that he got to have the most amazing human being Jensen had ever encountered.

Unknown to him that the so-called boyfriend was non-existent. 


	7. Chapter 7

After that eventful talk, Jensen and Jared became best of friends. They had lunch together and sometimes even dinner. The progress of the renovation was going at a good pace. The library and the office section were almost done. Jensen was healing and enjoyed Jared's company, genuinely believing that the man only wanted to be friends with him. Slowly but steadily Jensen accepted that maybe he was reading too much into this boyfriend scenario. But his brain constantly reminded him that if Jared claimed to be his best friend, then why wouldn’t he talk about his boyfriend with Jensen. Just normal things like when did they meet? Where did they meet? How many years into the relationship? And so on. 

Somehow, Jensen’s own feelings of jealousy kept him from asking Jared these questions. Because on the other hand, he didn’t want to listen to Jared singing praises about his boyfriend. He didn’t want to see the love-sick fool that Jensen was sure Jared would become once he started speaking about his boyfriend. Besides, the villa would be ready in a few months and Jensen was sure he’d get to meet the boyfriend sooner or later. Till then he was going to enjoy being Jared’s center of attention. 

Jensen finally invited Jared to the bar and introduced him to Jensen’s friends.Jared’s time was cut short because the ladies at the bar demanded to take some pictures with Jared and kept asking him to share one dance with them. One dance became two which became ten and then Jensen had to step in and tell Jared to meet them back at his house. Jensen couldn’t handle all the touchy and swooning ladies going after his Jared! There was only so much sharing that Jensen was willing to tolerate. 

The whole group had their own private party at Jensen’s house. A few drinks, four pizzas, and five packets of chips later, everyone was buzzed. 

_“Dude, it’s like you’re like...I’m like flying…” Chris said, squinting his eyes while looking at Jared from where he was spread out on the carpet next to the coffee table. He was wasted. The man had a good capacity when it came to drinking. But when he drank, the alcohol had a tendency to hit him hard and fast._

_“What do you mean?” Jared asked, furrowing his brow._

_“The shit I know. All I know is that you’re sooo handsome. But not more than Steve,” Chris said, eyes looking at the ceiling dreamily._

_“What?” Jensen, Alona, and Steve all shouted at once, Jared snickering from where he was sitting on the couch._

_“What? I can appreciate male beauty!” Chris yelled, indignantly._

_“Chris, do you understand what you just said?” Jensen asked his friend incredulously._

_“Yeah, I just said Steve is the handsome...est..est of them all,” Chris said, this time waving his hand around as if pointing at the imaginary men who were lined up for his rating._

_“Chris.” There was a warning in Steve’s tone. “Shut up, please.”_

_“I don’t wanna,” Chris whined, sitting up and looking at Steve, who was sitting on the chair opposite him. “I’m tired of pretending to hit on Alona just coz I'm not brave enough to say this.”_

_Steve looked at his friend, in shock, “You’ve been in love with Alona since like forever!”_

_“Noooo…” Chris shook his head from side to side while moving his legs on the carpet, mimicking a bratty kid throwing his biggest tantrum. “Alona was a good distraction. And she knows this already. I was just scared to admit that I was in love with you.”_

_“You what?” This time everyone yelled at once, stunned at the admission._

_A wide-eyed Chris suddenly stood up, walked up to where Steve was sitting_ _,_ _and planted himself in his lap, hands circling Steve’s neck, his forehead touching Steve’s, whispering softly. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize, but I truly love you. And I wanna kiss you.”_

_“Oh my God!” Alona and Jensen looked at each other as they spoke in unison._

_“You knew?” Jensen narrowed his eyes at Alona._

_“No,” she squeaked. But at Jensen’s glaring look she confessed. “Yeah, I did. He told me one day when he came to my house all emotional and drunk to apologize because he felt like an asshole for hitting on me when he was in love with Steve. He didn’t wanna lose their friendship and he begged me to play along.” She shrugged before continuing. “So I went along with it.”_

_“And you didn’t think to tell me this entire time?”_

_“Jensen, come on, it wasn’t my place to…” She stopped talking when she heard a loud moan coming from the chair where Chris and Steve were all over each other, sharing a deep kiss._

_“Hey, no facing sucking allowed in my house. Go get a room,” Jensen yelled at his friend, having no idea how to react to the news that these two idiots had been in love all along and never told him._

_Steve pulled away from the kiss, shushing Chris when he whimpered in displeasure, “Hey, it’s not my fault you’re too chicken shit to act on your feelings. At least my man was brave enough to admit his feelings.”_

_Jensen immediately blushed, looking at Steve in surprise. His secret was out and it was all over. Jared was going to know how pathetic he was. But he didn’t have to worry after all when he turned to look at Jared, he was sound asleep on the couch._

_“I wouldn’t have said it if I weren’t sure about him being passed out,” Steve murmured, holding Chris close to his chest. “Look Jensen, I’ve pined after Chris for years. And you have no idea how much I’ve suffered. I was an idiot for never telling Chris how I felt about him. Especially now, since I know he reciprocates my feelings. We wasted a lot of time being idiots in love.” Steve pressed a kiss on Chris’s temple. “Jared’s a great guy and he dotes on you. Don’t let him slip away.” Those had been the last words Steve said as he picked up a very sleepy and drunk Chris and bid goodbye, telling everyone not to expect them to come out of their house anytime soon._

_Jensen just kept on going over and over what had unfolded right in front of his eyes._

_“What are you thinking, Jen?” Alona softly asked her friend, knowing she had to give a direction to Jensen’s thoughts._

_“I...I don’t. What Steve said…”_

_“I know you already love him, Jen. Even if you refuse to acknowledge it,” she said._

_Jensen gasped._

_“Don’t deny it, Jen, it’s written on your face. Whenever you talk about him or when he’s around, it’s like you glow. He makes you happy.”_

_“How…” Jensen was at a loss for words. His friends were more perceptive than he thought._

_“I just know.” Alona shrugged. “Trust me, Jen, Jared is waiting for you. All you need to do is take the first step.”_

_The whole conversation sent him spiraling down the rabbit hole._

Only unbeknownst to everyone, Jared had heard everything. 

Jensen spent the next few days thinking and rethinking about what Steve and Alona had said. He finally decided that he needed to ask Jared to come clean about the boyfriend situation because he needed to know just how serious that relationship was. Alona seemed to be convinced that Jared was into him, but Jensen wasn’t so sure. He decided to confront Jared. He called Jared to see where he was, and to his relief, his friend was at his room at the inn he had stationed himself at. 

As expected Jensen got looks from the receptionist at the inn, but he simply ignored her. Ever since Oscar had visited the brewery and had that fight with Jared, the rumor mill had started churning that Jensen and Jared were indeed together. The local tabloid had even published an article that was immediately handled by Jared’s PR. 

Jensen knocked on the door of Jared’s room only to find it was already open. He slipped inside, where he could hear the water running in the bathroom. He felt like he was intruding in Jared's personal space, entering the room without his permission, but his stomach was in knots over the conversation he was about to have with Jared. So, he decided to wait outside in the lobby. He was about to head out when his eyes fell on a catalogue spread out on the coffee table. Curiously, he walked over to the table and looked at the catalogue in shock. 

The catalogue was all pictures of naked men in different poses wearing all types of underwear, with the outline of the clothed part quite visible in the photo. Jensen’s mouth would have watered at the sight of all that attractive masculinity on display, but the fact that these pictures were in Jared’s room unsettled him. What was Jared doing looking at them? It wasn’t as if there was only one picture, there were many. Was this how he pleasured himself? Jensen felt dismayed about the fact that Jared maybe loved to fantasize about naked men in boxers. He was still in shock when the door to the bathroom opened and a half-naked Jared strolled in.

“Hey Jen. Glad you came in. I left the door open specifically for you,” Jared said, face hidden, still toweling his wet hair.

Jensen snapped around at Jared’s voice, still holding the catalogue in his hands. The nickname was a recent development, and Jensen liked it. His mouth went dry at the sight of nearly naked Jared standing in front of him, towel around his waist, droplets of water streaming down his chest and toned abs. He could see Jared’s long legs and strong arms flexing as he dried his beautiful wet hair. Jensen felt his dick rise to the occasion. His mind filled with sudden dirty thoughts of how he could ravish Jared then and there when Jared cleared his throat and called out to him.

  
  


“Hey, Jen, are you ok?” Jared asked, looking worriedly at his friend, throwing the towel in his hand on the chair. 

“Yes,” Jensen squeaked. He immediately understood that even if he said yes, his tone was anything but. He cleared his dry throat before speaking, “I mean, yes. I’m okay. Why?” 

“You sure? You look...all red and surprised. Is there…” Jared’s eyes fell on what was in Jensen’s hand and this time he blushed, heat spreading all over his body, “Is...is that the catalog?”

Jensen was sure his brain was dead coz he could only manage to make some strangled noise. “Uuh...hmm.”’ 

“God, give it to me.” Jared scrambled forward to get that wretched thing out of Jensen’s hand. He was so embarrassed. He had forgotten to hide that stupid thing before Jensen arrived, fearing that his sensitive almost-boyfriend might be offended by all the exposed flesh. 

. 

Jensen quickly handed over the catalog to Jared, getting ready to flee the place as soon as could. He couldn’t even remember why he was there. This was all so embarrassing. Maybe Jared was trying to leave hints about his sexual predilections.. 

“It’s not what you’re thinking. I don’t--it’s not--dammit. It’s just that, it’s Chad. I’m gonna kill him, I swear,” Jared rambled as he hastily put the catalog inside the bedside drawer. “He’s my friend and he’s a clothing designer. I’m just...he sometimes sends me the pictures of the models to ...to get my opinion. That’s why. This is his recent collection of….well,” Jared saw how upset Jensen looked, and tried to give him a lopsided smile, hoping he hadn’t driven him away. “Jen, trust me. It was just some work. I’m not...I’m not…”

  
  


“It’s alright,” Jensen butted in, unable to listen to Jared’s babbling because it wasn’t making it any easier for Jensen to just stand there and not kiss the adorable man, despite his agitation over the scantily-clad men. “Listen, I have some work to do. Can...can we meet some other day?”

Jared knew he had messed up big time because he could see Jensen was lying, but he’d agree if it meant that it could give respite to his friend. “Yeah, sure. Tomorrow maybe?” 

“Tomorrow’s not good. How about I call you instead?” Jensen offered, quite hurriedly.

“Sure.” 

“That’s great. See you then.” 

Jared watched dejectedly as Jensen ran out of the room as if his pants were on fire. He groaned and he flopped down on the bed not believing what had just transpired. It was a huge misunderstanding. He hoped Jensen wouldn’t judge him, thinking he was a pervert who loved to look at almost naked men. He _did_ like to look at almost naked men, but he wanted the men to be Jensen.

Jared knew Jensen loved him and he knew by not coming clean to Jensen about everything, letting him believe in this imaginary boyfriend, he was doing more harm than good. It was just that he was looking for the right moment to tell Jensen that it was all a ruse to get to know him and perhaps confess his love for the green-eyed man. It had been going well so far, but today had been quite a disaster. He just wished Jensen would give him one more chance to explain. This was all Chad’s fault. 

One day became two, and two became almost a week and Jensen had yet to call him. He had tried calling Jensen but he wouldn’t pick up his phone. Maybe Jensen needed some space. Jared was worried sick. He didn’t want to lose Jensen over some stupid misunderstanding. He had even visited the coffee shop to see if he could meet Jensen there. Instead, he saw Alona. She had merely consoled him and served him coffee with extra cream and sugar. It seemed like giving Jensen his space was the only thing he could do. 

He was _so_ going to kill Chad. 


	8. Chapter 8

Rage had simmered inside of Jensen all week, and now came to a boil as he stood outside the door to the library. He knew it - he knew these rich people were all the same. Pretending to be all lovey-dovey with their partners but dating other people behind their back. He never would have expected this from Jared - the sweet, kind, bubbly Jared who even had dimples. Jared had a boyfriend and here he was ogling these other young men. Jensen felt betrayed as if someone had stabbed a knife in his heart and then twisted it painfully. All the old feelings of anger and broken trust rushed through him, and all he could see was Oscar fucking his slut of a secretary, Misha on their wedding day. He couldn’t let that happen to Jared’s boyfriend. Recklessly, he pushed open the door and barged inside the room. 

“How dare you, you bastard?” Jensen yelled at the man he thought was his friend.

Jared was utterly taken aback. He didn’t know Jensen was due to visit his office today, much less in this agitated state. “Jen, what are you doing here?”

“Don’t you dare call me Jen, you lying and cheating bastard. You told me you had a boyfriend!”

Jared was initially shocked to see Jensen. A week of silence and when he saw Jensen for the first time, the man was calling him a bastard? What happened in a week? Then he understood what it must have looked like to Jensen. Surrounded by naked men wasn’t an ideal way to meet the love of your life, whom you’ve been keeping in the dark about your plan. 

“Jen, calm down. We need to talk.”

“Hell no. I’m not going to talk to assholes like you who think you can play with people’s emotions. Rich fuckers like you think you can mess with anyone! I won’t let that happen again! I’ll find this boyfriend of yours and I’ll tell him how you’re manipulating him.”

“Jensen…”

“No,” Jensen shouted, chest heaving, eyes stinging at the thought of being betrayed, again. “Don’t you dare…”

“Would you calm down for a minute?” Jared raised his voice so he could get through Jensen’s emotional tirade. “Just hold on a minute. This has been a huge misunderstanding. I can explain, provided you’re willing to listen.”

“Why the Hell would I...wait, misunderstanding?” Jensen was now perplexed. What the Hell was going on. 

Jared rubbed his hands over his face and shook his head. He turned over to the male models who seemed to be amused with the whole spectacle. “Would you guys mind giving us some privacy? Jeff, can you please take them outside?” Jared requested of his manager.

That’s when Jensen looked around to see not only Jeff, but there was also a tall, lean, blue-eyed man present. He was standing at the corner of the shelves, looking at Jensen and grinning. He watched as Jeff shot the blond man an annoying look, and gestured at the models to follow him. Once they were out, Jared looked at him, face neutral. 

“Jensen, meet my friend, Chad Michael Murray. Remember I told you about him? He’s a clothing designer and owns the brand _Locus_ , which is famous for its variety in men’s clothing. He’s working on launching a new underwear line for men.” Jared motioned for Chad to come forward, “Chad, this is Jensen Ackles.”

  
  


“I know,” Chad said, extending his hand at Jensen. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Jensen,” Chad smirked at Jensen. Chad had to admit, he had been worried that the man who Jared kept on talking about was an illusion, but looking at the stunning man before him, he couldn’t fault his friend. The man was hot. 

  
  


Jensen blinked and just kept looking at Jared. 

Jared rolled his eyes. “I’m going to kill you,” Jared muttered at Chad.

“Why? What did I do? I was just trying to get your approval!” Chad grinned at Jared, knowing very well what Jared meant. 

“Right.” Jared sighed and turned towards Jensen, “Chad’s firm, _Locus_ , he started it with my support. I own a 51% stake in the company. And he’s been begging me to give my opinion on his new designs. That’s why he had mailed me the catalog that you saw in my room the other day. I was supposed to go through them and tell him how it looked. Then you came in and saw them. I was trying to explain it but you ran away all upset, and after that, you were ignoring me like I was some kind of a pervert. You didn’t even pick up my calls. What was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to explain everything?” 

“I..I…” Jensen was once again left speechless. This was a pure disaster, and it was all his fault. 

“Because I was so upset about everything that happened, I didn’t get back to Chad and he, like the fucker that he is, barged into my room this morning, demanding I take a look at the set of models that he had flown in specifically for me to see. He has a deadline, and he’d planned to do the photoshoot at the villa ever since I told him that I’d bought it. “

“Yeah, it has this unique antiquated look, and what else is better than half-naked men spread out on the couch for people to look at?” Chad cackled, butting in between Jared and Jensen. He could feel the tension in the room. 

“Shut up, Chad,” Jared yelled at his friend. “And since when are you even into men, Chad?”

“Hey, don’t judge me. I appreciate all forms of beauty, no matter the size and shape they come in. Wait, I do look at the size though. Boobs or a dick doesn’t matter.” Chad shrugged, admitting he was bi, knowing that his friend needed some relief. “Besides, you are so busy these days, you don’t even call sweet old me,” he pouted. 

“Oh for God’s sake…” Jared huffed.

“Jayman, gotta say, I was worried you had almost dreamed up a human being when you talked continuously about Jensen. Sorry I doubted you, bud.” Chad walked up to Jared, clapping him on his back, then proceeded to look Jensen up and down, whistling. “The dude’s hot. I have no doubt you’ve scored yourself a jackpot. I’m proud of you my man.” 

“Chaaad,” Jared whined, and for once he prayed his friend stopped talking. 

Jensen did not know what to make of this Chad guy. He wondered if the guy knew he had no brain to mouth filter. Then it hit him what Chad said. Had Jared talked about him with the guy? Listening to Chad, Jensen had no doubt that Jared indeed had. But that seemed as if Jared liked him. Like “ _like_ ” like. But didn’t Jared mention he had a boyfriend? If that was the case why did Chad say Jared had hit a jackpot? That would mean Jared was…Oh no!

Oh Hell No!!

It didn’t make any sense to him why Jared would keep the fact that he was into Jensen from him. 

“Dude, have you looked at him? He’s hotter than you, I swear to God. He’s got the greenest eyes ever. Is that why the label on the new beer you’re launching is green? You sneaky bastard, I knew it had some meaning behind it, coz I know for a fact that you hate the color green.” Chad then turned to Jensen. “Did you know he’s totally gone for you? Ever since he came back here, all he talks about Jensen this, Jensen that. He’s even launching a new beer in the market, cinnamon-flavored, and he’s named it _Jack’s Rack_ after you. That’s how much he’s into you.” 

Jensen froze. All of it now made sense. Jared spending time with him, going out with him, meeting him at places accidentally. All this while he’d been dating Jared without even knowing about it. But there still was a question that boggled him. What about the boyfriend?

“Chad, you ruin everything. He didn’t know that yet!” Jared screamed at his friend. Chad never knew when to shut up. 

Chad acted all surprised. He knew that the moment Jensen barged in, accusing Jared of all sorts of things, that it was time for Jared’s little plan to end. But he wasn’t sure how he should approach the subject. Instead, he decided to go for the shock factor. “Oops. Sorry. But hey, look at the bright side. Now we all can speak the truth, right?” He gave Jared a pointed look that meant it was time to come clean.

“Yeah.” Jared sighed, knowing that it had all blown out of proportion.

Meanwhile, Jensen was running out of patience. It seemed like there was something missing from the puzzle. He was out of the loop, which he didn’t like at all.

“Will one of you tell me what the Hell is going on?” Jensen yelled at both the men standing in front of him.

“Jen, please don’t be mad,” Jared pleaded. 

“I’m going to be mad if you don’t start talking right the Hell now.” 

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you.” Jared took a deep breath, stomach in knots, hoping that what he was about to reveal would not upset Jensen anymore. “The first time I saw you, at the coffee shop, staring at me, I was lost, Jen...lost in those green eyes. You were the most beautiful man I had ever seen. And you looked so cute, blushing when I caught you staring at me. How could I not fall for you?” Jared shrugged one of his shoulders, lips curved in a small smile. “I wanted to ask you out right there and then, but Alona interrupted. That woman is fiery, I tell you,” Jared chuckled, remembering how she had confronted him in the car, not even afraid of his status as a millionaire, and a powerful businessman. 

Jared continued, looking at the stunned man in front of him. “She told me to stay away from you because you had just come out of a serious relationship. But I couldn’t care less about that. I knew you were supposed to be mine the second I saw you. Never in my life had I ever felt so strongly about anyone as I did for you. Ever since that day, I had the strongest urge to settle down, somewhere calm and serene, with you by my side. The thought of someone else having you in a way that I couldn’t burned me from the inside. I was also aware of the rumors about you and the fact that Wilson had screwed up with you. I was sure that if I approached you, you’d reject me in a second. So, I devised a plan with Jeff. I decided that the only way to get to know you was by spending more time with you. That could only be done if you were working with me in some capacity. Jeff suggested that I buy the villa because there was no way I could go back, even to Sacramento, without you. I bought the villa and offered you the contract to renovate it. To my surprise, you agreed. But you also asked me why I was purchasing a villa in a town like this. I panicked and told you the first thing that came to my mind. I lied and I told you it was for my boyfriend.” 

“Way to go, my man,” Chad spoke out of turn again, grinning like a madman. 

“Chad,” Jared warned his friend. 

“What? It’s true.” 

Jared ignored Chad and continued, “Which technically wasn’t a lie. Because you were ultimately going to be my boyfriend. And I planned on giving you the villa once it was ready. It was the reason why I let you draw up the plans the way you liked. I gave you free rein to do the changes as you liked. Because this was going to be your home.”

“Way to be whiner, man. I’m sure Jensen understands why you did it,” Chad spoke again. 

“Chad, would you let me speak?” An exasperated Jared asked his friend.

“Alright, I’ll shut up,” Chad muttered and kept quiet.

Jared just shook his head at his friend’s antics. He knew Chad was just trying to ease the tension. Because Jensen was looking red like a tomato, ready to combust at any time. “I was so happy, Jen. I started observing you, trying to figure out everything about you because you were so closed up. But slowly I wormed my way through the walls that you’d built around yourself. We became friends and eventually best friends. I think punching Oscar was the turning point for us. God Jen, you have no idea how much I wanted to knock that guy out cold.”

“You punched Oscar? Dude, you never told me that!” Chad exclaimed. 

“Do you _ever_ shut up?” It was Jensen this time who spoke, and it left Chad surprised. Because it was like watching a movie with multiple climaxes. Jensen just wanted to listen to Jared and understand what the man had been thinking. 

“You deserved it,” Jared told his friend before he continued, “I felt so happy that day when you finally opened up to me, Jen. It felt like I finally had you, completely. Those walks at the lakefront, dinners at the taco restaurants, and lunch at the offices were some of the best days of my life. I was already attracted to you. But those were the times when I actually fell in love with you. I remember that day when you took the tour of the villa for the first time with me. You were so passionate, Jen. I observed that whenever you spoke about the villa it was like you’d just glow. That would make my heart sing. I wanted to tell you the truth so badly, but there was never a right time. I was planning to take you somewhere, have a picnic or a good dinner and confess everything. Tell you that I don’t have a boyfriend. Tell you that I love you. But then you came to my room and saw the catalog and ever since then...it’s all gone to hell in a handbasket,” Jared said in a small voice. 

“Ja...” Chad wanted to comfort his friend. 

“I swear to God, you speak one more time and I’ll kill you,” Jared growled at Chad. He was now irritated with his friend. Every time he seemed to come to a conclusion, Chad ruined the flow. It was worth it though when he comically shut his mouth. 

Jensen was still looking at both men in shock, his mouth fell open when Jared told him he loved him. He personally found it very sweet, the lengths to which Jared went to not hurt Jensen’s feelings, making him eventually feel comfortable around Jared. But he was also embarrassed that he hadn't figured it out sooner. It finally made sense. Everything fell into place like pieces of a puzzle. It explained all the things that he thought were weird like Jared never speaking about his boyfriend, never consulting said boyfriend when it came to renovating the villa, always changing the subject when Jensen poked at it. It was because there never was a boyfriend. 

Wait, that meant and by Jared’s own confession, they’d been dating all this time. That would make Jensen Jared’s boyfriend. 

Oh my fucking God, this was a disaster because Jared had been so sweet, but Jensen had ruined everything by accusing Jared of the things that he was incapable of doing. He looked on as Jared spoke again.

“Jen, I’m sorry. But you have to believe me when I say, I’m not into anyone else but you. That catalog was all Chad’s fault. And what you saw today was just Chad being his obnoxiously persistent self.” Jared was vaguely aware of his friend taking offense at that, but he didn’t care. What he cared about at the moment was getting through to Jensen. “I didn’t mean for you to see me with the guys. I had nothing to do with them. I was actually going to come meet you after this all was over, but then you came bursting in throwing the biggest hissy fit I ever saw. It hurt that you could even think of me like that.”

Jared sounded so sad and Jensen felt so horrible. He knew he should have trusted Jared, but when it came to his heart, Jensen was always guarded because he’d been hurt before. When he saw that catalog, he did think for a second that Jared was a pervert, but then Jared had come out of the bathroom, naked and freshly showered, and Jensen couldn’t stand there in the room. It had horrified him because, for the first time in his life, he felt his body was out of his control. Had he stood there for one second longer, he would have done something stupid like kiss Jared senseless. At that time, Jensen thought it was wrong to feel that way about Jared because he had a boyfriend. He didn’t know that the boyfriend was imaginary. 

“I love you, Jen,” Jared said, meeting Jensen’s eyes directly, pouring all his feelings into the words. “Please say something.” He didn’t know what to think when the only reaction so far was an audible gasp.

Jensen’s breath hitched. Those hazel eyes were shining with so much love and adoration that for a second, Jensen didn’t think he deserved such a pure soul. Jared had done everything that Jensen dreamed about. He cared about him, made Jensen feel comfortable, never hit on him or did anything inappropriate, and when the time came, he also became his knight in shining armor, punching Oscar in the face. But Jensen was a stone-hearted person who’d only managed to hurt Jared. He did not deserve to be loved. Not by Jared anyway. 

“I’m so sorry,” Jensen whispered, and fled the room not stopping until he was in the car and far away from there in a matter of seconds, leaving a shattered Jared behind.


	9. Chapter 9

Jared was crushed. Never did he think that Jensen would reject him so blatantly. Jensen didn’t even say anything apart from telling him that he’s sorry. What did that mean? Was he sorry that he ran out on Jared that day? Was he sorry that he never called back? Was he sorry that he yelled at Jared, accusing him of horrible things? Or was he sorry because he didn’t reciprocate Jared’s feelings? 

The last thought was unbearable to him. Because he knew in his heart that Jensen loved him. But then why did Jensen run away once again? Jared couldn’t fathom the idea of living without Jensen in this town after having absorbed the very essence of him in his life. What would Jared do, staying back here when Jensen so obviously didn’t want anything to do with him?

Jared’s heart was aching and he couldn’t help himself from breaking down. His mind suddenly wandered to the myth around the villa that whoever bought it never got a happy ending in their love life and was forever followed by tragedy. Then strong arms surrounded him in a tight embrace. 

“Shh, I’m so sorry, bud. It’s gonna be ok,” Chad consoled his sobbing friend. He had witnessed everything and he had a hunch that both the idiots in love were yet to comprehend the depth of their feelings. Add to that the huge misunderstandings between them that had played a crucial role in the breakdown of the relationship. One thing he was sure of was that Jensen loved Jared just as much as Jared loved Jensen. But Chad was sure, given time, they both would come to terms with their feelings. He also understood that now was not the time to talk about it. Now it was time for Jared to overcome the hurt that was caused by Jensen. 

“B..but, Chad he just, he left,” Jared spoke in between his sobs. “I love him, why did he leave?” 

Chad broke the embrace and gripped his friend’s shoulders, “Jaybird, look at me,” he urged his friend who was looking at the floor, not ready to meet his eyes. “Jayman, look at me.”

Jared obliged. 

“I know it feels like everything is crumbling down, but it's not. During the one time I actually got to meet Jensen, I could see he had feelings for you. It’s not hard to miss that he wants you. Trust me when I say the fool loves you. Till today he didn’t know that you loved him back. You can’t expect the man to say ’ok’ and be done with it all. Give him some time to process everything. And once he does, I’m sure he’ll come running back,” Chad told him sincerely. 

Jared looked at his friend with wide eyes. Most of the time, Chad acted like such a big douchebag that Jared forgot his friend wasn’t as dumb as he pretended to be. It never failed to amaze him how Chad could be so observant and act like a fool at the same time. Chad was right though, Jared had piled everything on Jensen and he needed to give the man some space to internalize things. He just nodded and thanked his friend for being there for him.

“That’s what friends are for, right? Now come on, let’s go and complete the shoot, and afterward you and I hit the bars. We can’t allow the town of Maple Falls to be deprived of the Chad charm!” 

Jared laughed at that. “You’re such a dick, Chad.”

“That’s the part of my personality, dude. Now, come on. We gotta look at some naked dudes. Maybe that’ll help you heal your heart,” Chad cackled as Jared gave him a head slap. 

They proceeded with the photo shoot and that was enough to take Jensen out of Jared’s mind for some time. They had lunch at the taco place near the lakefront after the shoot was complete. Before lunch, Jared gave a tour to his friend and told him about all the expected changes that would be done with the villa. In the evening, they both hit the bar and came back to the inn punch drunk, drunk enough to forget that they had company for the night.

Early next morning, Jensen left his house and headed for the inn where Jared was staying to beg forgiveness and apologize for his behavior the day before. He was ashamed for how he had acted and hadn’t slept at all last night, tossing and turning in his bed, going over and over all possible scenarios of how he could have handled the situation better. Even if Jared had lied to him about the whole boyfriend situation, Jensen found that it didn’t make him angry. No, the opposite in fact. He found the whole thing to be absolutely endearing because it told him the lengths to which Jared was willing to go so as to not hurt his feelings. Jensen’s heart melted at the thought of just how sweet and considerate Jared was.

Jared knew Jensen's past, knew about all the gossip, and yet he chose to believe in Jensen, which apart from his friends and family no one seemed to do. Jared chose to believe in Jensen’s side of the story and not just the rumors that floated around. He never judged Jensen, for anything. Even when Jensen opened up to him, he never told Jensen what he could or couldn't have done or what he should or should not have done. Instead, Jared had always maintained it was Jensen’s choice. This was exactly the man Jensen had been looking for all his life. And yet, when the man declared his love for Jensen, he had fled. 

Jensen really felt bad for how he had treated Jared. By all means, he should have danced around with joy because the man who Jensen has had a crush on ever since he saw him had finally said that he loved Jensen. He should have run towards Jared to hug him and kiss him to his heart’s content, instead he’d run away from Jared. To be fair, at that moment it had been a lot to take in. Jensen had been judging the man and accusing him of being a rich spoiled brat who didn’t care for anyone except himself. Once Jensen had calmed down enough behind the closed walls of his house, he realized how epically he had messed things up. He realized Jared wasn’t capable of hurting anyone, let alone someone he loved with all his heart. Jensen suddenly had some flashbacks to their dinners and lunches where a dimpled, smiling Jared had become Jensen’s confidant, his best friend, and much more. He thought back to what Alona said days back when he had invited Jared to hang out with them and he smacked himself internally when he thought he had a chance to tell Jared how he felt about him and how instead he had ended up throwing a hissy fit. 

Therefore the very next morning, he decided to go and talk to Jared and beg him for forgiveness, praying to the heavens that Jared would look past his mistakes and forgive him. He reached the inn early and headed up to Jared’s room and knocked on the door, heart beating a mile a minute. He heard footsteps heading towards the door, his face breaking into a huge smile only to be appalled to see a very naked Misha, barely wrapped in white bed sheet, standing inside Jared’s room, smirking at Jensen. It felt like deja vu. He suddenly felt dizzy and his hands felt clammy. He wanted to wake up from this dream, wanted to believe so badly that this wasn't real and that Jared would never get involved with Misha. But the evidence said otherwise. 

“Well, you seem to repel your guys instead of alluring them, Jensen. Let me tell you though, you missed the bus. Jared’s a very thorough and amazing lover,” Misha told Jensen smugly.

Jensen wanted to punch the guy in the face. In his heart he knew something was amiss, but how could he explain a naked Misha standing in Jared’s room talking about Jared being a thorough lover. 

“You fucking slut, what have I ever done to you for you to treat me like this?” Jensen demanded, feeling the sting of tears behind his eyelids. 

“Treat you like this? Oh, Jensen, you don’t understand. Men are attracted to you, they want you. But you don’t seem to indulge them. So, when they are all needy and horny, I give them what they want. Simple. I have nothing against you,” Misha leered at him.

“I...Jared wouldn’t...he won’t...’’

“Aww, you don’t believe me, do you. Wait, I’ll call him and you can see for yourself,” Misha called for Jared just to spite Jensen.

Jensen was going to be sick, he was definitely going to be sick when Misha called for Jared to come out and he heard the bathroom door open. He closed his eyes as someone padded towards them, not wanting to believe what was going to be very obvious in the next moment. But when he heard someone say his name, he was confused.

“Jensen? What are you doing here?” 

Jensen opened his eyes to see a snickering Misha looking at him and a confused Chad standing behind him, clad only with a towel on his waist. “I could ask you the same question, Chad. Where’s Jared?”

“Oh, he’s in my room. The next one, right beside this one,” Chad answered, pointing in the direction of the room.

“What are you doing in his room? And what the Hell is this prick doing here?” Jensen was out of his depth. This Chad person was literally getting on his last nerve. 

“Wait, this is not Chad, this is Jared.” Misha looked between the two, forehead wrinkled, turning towards Chad, “You’re Jared, right?”

Chad just chuckled, “What does it matter if I’m Jared or Chad, all that matters is that I got to fuck your pretty little hole until it was stuffed full. You were such a slut for my cock, baby.” 

“Chad!” Jensen exclaimed, scandalized that Chad would say something like that in his presence. 

“What? It’s the truth!” Chad said, a smug expression on his face. 

“Why does this guy think you’re Jared?” Jensen demanded.

“Because I told him I’m Jared. It’s a little game we play. Whenever I and Jared are out in the bar, he pretends to be me to avoid attention and I pretend to be him to get all the attention. Last night, we were at the bar, getting shit-faced when this dude approached us, looking all coy, and wanted to have fun with Jared Padalecki. Jared was too wasted to be even coherent, so I stepped into his shoes, put Jared in my room, and took this meaty piece of ass back with me.” Chad spanked Misha on his butt, Misha letting out a yelp. He laughed and continued. “Besides, Jared’s so gone over you that he refused to even acknowledge that anyone else existed apart from you.” Chad shrugged as he informed Jensen. 

Jensen was beyond relieved. He was happy, ecstatic even that Jared loved him enough to refuse advances from anyone who wanted to get together with him. It also made his heartache because Jared must be hurting and it was all because of him. He wanted to see the man, hug him close to his heart, and never let him go. He was desperate. But before he could ask anything further, Misha interrupted.

“What in the fucking Hell is this? You’re not Jared Padalecki?” Misha yelled, his voice rising so it carried out into the hallway where Jensen was still standing, rooted in shock at the sight before him. 

“Umm...no. I’m Chad Michael Murray, Jared’s friend,” Chad said, nonchalantly. 

“What the fuck? You ass, you lied to me,” Misha shouted. 

“Your point being? You were clearly there for a booty call and you got it. What’s the hue and cry for?” 

“Because you were supposed to be Jared!” Misha screamed, indignant.

“Why?” Chad questioned.

Misha’s face was one full of horror, “Because...coz, Jensen was supposed to be with Jared.”

“You’re not making any sense.” Chad was getting really irritated. It was one of the reasons why Chad never went out with men like this because they all went emo the next morning. But yesterday had been tempting and he wanted to get laid as it had been a while since his last one-night stand. 

“Ugh...I was out of town for the past few months. When I came back, Oscar told me Jensen was shagging up with Jared and he asked me to sleep with him and prove to Jensen that he wasn't worth…”

“If you complete that sentence I’m going to punch you and throw you out of here naked.” A deep voice snarled from behind Jensen. 

Jensen almost flinched when he heard the voice and turned around quickly only to smile at the soft-looking Jared. 

“Jared?” Jensen spoke, taking in Jared’s messy wet hair and sleepy eyes. He was freshly showered and dressed in a blue henley and black jeans.

“Hey, Jen. Let me take care of this prick first, we’ll talk in a minute,” Jared said, smiling softly at Jensen.

Jared had woken up to Chad knocking on his door. When he woke up, he realized he wasn’t in his room. He opened the door, feeling like shit and with his head pounding because of the alcohol he had consumed last night at the bar. He remembered Chad telling him that he was staying in Jared’s room because he’d found a hot piece of ass. Jared didn’t care about anything at that point. He just wanted to collapse in bed and dream about green eyes and a freckled face with a wide smile on it. When he woke up though, Chad had handed him some clothes and told him to get ready as they were going to check out new locations for the photo shoot today. Jared was still pondering about how he should approach Jensen while he was in the shower when he heard some yelling from outside. He dressed quickly and headed out, standing at a little distance so they couldn’t see him in the hallway, eavesdropping, only to find Jensen standing outside the door to the room with some man barely covered in bed sheets and Chad standing inside his room. He’d heard enough to know that this was the man who was the reason behind Jensen’s hardships. He stood there listening intently about what was going on when he heard the man was about to hurt Jensen again. He went into full protective mode and walked up behind Jensen, tall and intimidating, voice full of steel when he warned the guy. 

Misha squeaked and headed inside to get dressed. He came out looking angry, throwing daggers at Jensen, “You piece of shit, you were supposed to be with Oscar. You’re supposed to be…”

Jared moved in a flash, grabbing Misha by his collar and pushing him hard against the wall beside the door to the room. “You are a greedy little whore, aren’t you? What? Oscar isn’t enough for you that you’re willing to sleep around with any man? Or are you that much of a wimp that you sleep around with anyone that Oscar asks you to? This is the only warning you get. Tell your boss that if I find you or him anywhere near Jensen, I’ll bury you so deep that you won’t ever be able to see the light of the day. Tell him that I’ll be paying him a visit shortly and I’ll also be suing him for defamation. Now get out of my sight before I forget that I’m a big boy and my momma taught me to be good to others,” Jared spat at a scared Misha, pushing him out of the room and away from Jensen towards the stairs of the lobby. “Get out of my sight. I don’t ever want to see you near me or Jensen again.” 

“I’ll take care of it, Jared,” Chad said as he stepped into the hallway, watching as Misha slunk away before following him to make sure that Misha had actually left the inn. For Chad, Misha was just another one-night stand until he heard Misha say Oscar’s name. He felt happy that he had fucked Misha hard enough that his ass would be bruised for the next couple of days almost as a punishment in disguise. 

Once Misha hurriedly ran away, Chad chasing behind him, Jared motioned for Jensen to follow him to Chad’s room. He let Jensen inside and closed the door behind him. The moment he turned around, he found himself being pushed against the door and kissed hard within an inch of his life. At first, he was shocked, but when Jensen’s tongue shyly licked along his lower lip, asking for entrance, he readily opened his mouth and kissed Jensen back enthusiastically. 

“I’m sorry,” Jensen said when they broke the kiss once the need for oxygen was too heavy to ignore. 

Jared licked around the seam of Jensen’s lower lip and pressed soft kisses along his mouth. “For what?”

“For being an asshole,” Jensen breathed as Jared kept on kissing him, readily kissing him back. Months of pent-up sexual tension were finally being released. It was like the floodgates were opened and they couldn’t stop tasting each other, eating at each other’s mouth hungrily. 

“And for throwing a tantrum the other day,” Jensen said, chasing after Jared’s mouth.

“Hmm…(kiss)...you’re…(kiss)...forgiven…(kiss)...about…(kiss)...five…(kiss)...minutes…(kiss)...ago,” Jared said. He felt like he was on cloud nine. For months now, he’d wanted Jensen and it seemed like Jensen wanted him too. 

“Wait,” Jensen said, hand resting on Jared’s chest, stopping him as he leaned down to kiss Jensen again, “Let me say this, Jared.” Jensen shyly looked into the hazel eyes that had mesmerized him since day one. “I’m really sorry… for everything. I shouldn’t have run away from you. I should have listened to you instead. But my past and the fact that you mentioned having a boyfriend…”

Jared knew where this was going, “Hey, I know. I’m sorry too for lying to you about that. What’s done is done. We can’t change the past. What we can do is focus on our future together. What do you say?” Jared smiled softly at the man in his arms.

Jensen gave him a blinding smile, poking at Jared’s dimples. “I say yes. I say...I love you, so very much.” 

Jared laughed, feeling his love for this man soaring to new heights. “Took you long enough.” 

“Hey, aren’t you gonna say it back?” 

“You never have to ask me that. I’ll always tell you that I love you too. I love you, Jensen, more than I could ever express.” 

Jensen reached up, grabbing Jared’s face, planting a passionate kiss on the man’s lips. “After Oscar, I never thought I’d ever find love. But you...you came into my life like a breath of fresh air, choosing to believe in me, choosing to love me despite my flaws. Thank you...thank you, Jared.” 

“Well, you know what they say?” Jared asked him, looking adoringly at Jensen.

“What?” Jensen asked, expecting Jared to say something deeply meaningful.

“Love can come even to those who throw humdinger hissy fits.” Jared laughed at Jensen’s pouty face. 

Jensen couldn’t keep up the ruse for long though and joined Jared, laughing freely. He had to agree with Jared. Because even though Jensen had lost his faith in love, he’d found it under exceptional circumstances. And three years later, standing on the balcony of their bedroom at the villa in the town of Maple Falls, Texas, sipping a cup of coffee, if anyone asked Jensen how it felt to be loved? All he had to do was lean back against the chest of the man who was standing right behind him, arms encircling Jensen’s waist, a content smile on his face, he’d tell you it was pretty damn perfect actually.

All you needed to do was throw a hissy fit and wait for love to find you. 

  
  


_The End._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading the story. I would love to hear what you thought about it. Kudos and comments are most welcome and appreciated.


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